Syrian army fights Islamic State in spite of hostage threat

Pro-Syrian government forces advanced on an Islamic State (IS) group pocket in southwest Syria on Sunday, a military media unit run by Damascus's ally Hezbollah reported, in spite of a threat to hostages the militants seized last week.

Syrian state television broadcast footage from near the scene of the fighting showing military vehicles moving along a road.

IS holds only a small area of Daraa province near the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, after army advances last week that forced it to retreat.

The group staged a sudden coordinated attack on Wednesday on the city of Sweida and nearby villages from a separate pocket about 65km from Daraa, killing more than 200 people including many civilians, and seizing some women as hostages.

IS leaked photos of 14 women from Sweida, saying they were kidnapped from their houses, according to activists on social media platforms, IraqiNews.com reported on Saturday.

The militants have threatened to harm the hostages if the Damascus government does not halt its offensive against IS in the Yarmouk Valley near Jordan and the Golan Heights, the Jerusalem Post said.

Sweida is predominantly Druze. Since the outbreak of the civil war, the majority of the city has been under government control and has seen relatively little fighting.  

A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the army has bombarded the remaining IS territory in Daraa province. The Hezbollah media unit said the Syrian army has advanced towards the town of al-Shajara.

The Observatory also reported air strikes against IS positions east of Sweida.

A non-Syrian source close to Damascus said the army had paused its offensive early on Sunday, but it was for logistical reasons rather than because of the hostages.

An informal communications channel had been opened with IS to try to secure the release of the hostages, the source said.