BEIRUT: A local leader and seven other members of a militia in southern Syria affiliated with the the militant Islamic State group were killed on Sunday in Daraa province, a war monitor said.

The cradle of the 2011 uprising against Presi­dent Bashar al-Assad that was followed by years of war, Daraa province remains unstable despite the return of government forces in 2018 following a reconciliation agreement with rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said “a senior leader” was among the eight killed “in violent clashes between local factions” and a the IS-affiliated group.

Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that “eight terrorists from Daesh were eliminated in the town of Nawa”, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

The report said the deaths included “the so-called leader of Hauran”, which spans over parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan.

The Observatory, which relies on a vast network of sources in Syria, said the leader was in charge of “strengthening the links between the cells” of the jihadist group in the south of the country.

Former rebels in Daraa province who accepted the 2018 deal sponsored by Russia, Damascus’ main ally, were able to keep their light weapons.

Attacks, some claimed by IS, regularly occur there, as well as armed clashes and assassinations of government supporters, former opposition figures and also civilians working for the government.

In late 2022 IS confirmed the death of its former leader, killed in Daraa during clashes with local fighters.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2024