Islamic State attacks Syrian forces near Damascus
BEIRUT - Islamic State fighters launched attacks on government-held areas near Damascus overnight on Tuesday in an apparent response to the group's loss of ground elsewhere in Syria.
The jihadist group said in a statement it had attacked the Tishrin power station 30 miles northeast of the capital. A Syrian military source acknowledged the group had staged assaults, but said all those who took part had been killed.
Islamic State attackers, using five bomb-laden cars, also struck military positions near the airport, southeast of Damascus, killing 12 soldiers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based organisation that tracks the war, said.
