BEIRUT: The militant Islamic State group seized parts of a key town on the Syrian-Iraqi border on Friday in a massive operation that further confirmed the militants remain a force on the ground.

IS used at least 10 suicide bombers in its offensive on Albu Kamal, which lies in he Euphrates Valley in eastern Syria and swiftly took several neighbourhoods, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The offensive is the latest in a string of IS attacks which confirm predictions that the militant organisation would continue to be a threat even after the collapse of its “caliphate” last year.

At least 25 government and allied fighters were killed in the operation, one of the militants’ largest this year, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Observatory.

“It’s the biggest attack on Albu Kamal since they lost it” in November 2017, he said.

“IS now controls several parts of the city. Fighting is ongoing in the centre,” he said, adding that at least 18 militants, including the suicide attackers, were also killed.

According to the Observatory, the militant organisation that once ruled a self-proclaimed state roughly the size of Britain now holds less than three percent of Syrian territory.

Suspected Russian strikes kill 44 civilians

Air strikes thought to have been carried out by Russian jets on a rebel-held residential area in northwestern Syria have killed 44 civilians, a Britain-based monitor said on Friday.

Six children were among those killed when the strikes hit the Zardana area of Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2018