Last Friday, there was a deadly attack in Homs in Syria, in which at least 53 people have died. State media has attributed the attack to the jihadist terrorist group Islamic State. However, this organization has not claimed responsibility for the attack. State TV said 53 people were killed in an attack by ISIS militants southwest of the city of Al-Sukhnah in the desert east of Homs.
Walid Audi, director of the Palmyra hospital, said 46 civilians and seven soldiers were among those killed. Walid Audi said the bodies were brought to the Palmyra hospital after the attack that targeted dozens of people. All had bullet wounds in their heads. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the attack on Friday.
ISIS torched the cars of the victims
State media said the victims were gathering desert truffles when they were attacked. Homs province is controlled by the Syrian government and its allies. Five injured were referred to another hospital. One of the survivors told Sana’a that ISIS had burned their cars. But the organization did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack.
ISIS captured the area after the government lost control
ISIS once again controlled vast swaths of Syria, losing ground in separate offensives by US-backed fighters, Russian-backed government forces, regional militants and Turkish rebels. Since then, most of the ISIS terrorists were hiding in the desert. They have since used such bases to ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops, while continuing to mount attacks in neighboring Iraq.
Organization uses sleeper cells to carry out hit-and-run attacks
The organization uses sleeper cells to conduct hit-and-run attacks in Syria. So there are Syrian government troops spread across the country. At the same time, it relies heavily on its allies, including the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, and Iran, to maintain control of its territory.
