BEIRUT: The militant Islamic State group claimed it had killed nine Syrian soldiers in the country’s vast Badia desert on Tuesday.

“Nine Syrian soldiers were killed and three wounded” when they had gathered in the east of Hama province, central Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The IS has stepped up attacks in Syria in recent months, particularly in the Badia desert which runs from the outskirts of Damascus to the Iraqi border.

On Feb 2, the group killed five members of forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, said the Britain-based Observatory.

An IS attack on Jan 9 killed 14 government soldiers in the east of Homs province, said the monitor, which relies on a network of sources in Syria for its reports.

The militant group overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming its “caliphate” and launching a reign of terror.

It was defeated territorially in Syria in 2019, but its remnants continue to carry out deadly hit-and-run attacks and ambushes, particularly from desert hideouts.

Returnees suffer abuse

Syrians returning to their war-torn country often suffer severe rights abuses, including torture and sexual violence, the UN said on Tuesday, warning that women were particularly vulnerable.

A report published by the United Nations rights office, based on dozens of interviews with returnees and former returnees, depicts “an extremely bleak picture” they face once back in Syria. It documented violations and abuses, including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence and abductions, carried out by the Syrian government, de facto authorities and other armed groups across the country.Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2024