Syria: IS attack reportedly kills 10 pro-government fighters in Raqqa

Islamic State (IS) group militants have killed 10 Syrian pro-government fighters in the northern city of Raqqa, according to a UK-based war monitor.

"IS attacked positions and checkpoints belonging to the regime... setting fire to military vehicles and prefabricated houses," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Tuesday.

It added that the attack, which took place on Monday evening, wounded six Syrian soldiers, with some in a critical state.

Raqqa was taken over by IS in 2014 as its de-facto capital and ruled with an iron fist under its self-declared "caliphate". 

In October 2017, the militant group was kicked out of its Syrian stronghold by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by the United States.

The IS group controlled one-third of Iraq and Syria at its peak in 2014. Though it was beaten back in both countries, its fighters continue to wage deadly attacks.

According to SOHR, there have been 373 fatalities since the beginning of this year in violent confrontations between IS militants and pro-government forces and militias in the Syrian desert. 

That includes 196 fighters belonging to Syrian government forces and proxy militias, including 37 Iranian-backed militiamen, it said. 

It also includes 157 civilians and 20 IS members killed by pro-government forces and Russian air strikes in hideouts in the deserts of Homs, al-Suweyda, Hama, Raqqa, Deir Ezzor and Aleppo. 

In April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, the "suspected leader" of IS, was killed by Turkish forces during an operation in northwest Syria.