DAMASCUS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- After being one of the safest places away from Syria's seven-year-old war, the southern province of Sweida lived the single deadliest day Wednesday with over 215 people killed and 180 wounded in the Islamic State (IS) attacks.
The high death toll includes victims killed by three suicide bombings in the capital city of Sweida, and those who took up arms against the IS in towns of the province's northeastern countryside, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The SOHR added that 30 IS militants, including the suicide bombers, were killed in the attacks.
The Syrian army and locals succeeded in pushing back the IS from some areas infiltrated through the attacks, and the authorities foiled other would-be suicide bombings in the city, said state media.
While the countryside of Sweida has witnessed battles between rebels, including IS, and the Syrian army, the city of Sweida has remained largely calm during Syria's seven-year-long war as it is inhabited by people of the Druze minority, which are loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
The IS attacks and bombings in Sweida have diverted the army's attention and released the pressure in the IS-held areas in the nearby western countryside of Daraa province near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where the Syrian army has been relentlessly striking the IS.
With the mediation and help of Russia, the army has already captured 90 percent of Daraa through battles and reconciliations, and rebels in the southwestern province of Quneitra near the Golan Heights have agreed to leave for rebel-held places in northern Syria.
After Wednesday's attacks, some tribal leaders in Sweida said hundreds of young men are ready to join battles against the IS in areas the terrorists stormed in the province's countryside.
The attacks prove that countries supporting terrorism in Syria are attempting to pump life into terrorist organizations to achieve political gains, said Assad when he met Russia's special envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev in Damascus.
Lavrentiev commented that the attacks prove the rightful path followed by the Syrian government in fighting terrorism, according to the Presidential Media Office in Syria.
The United Nations (UN) condemned the bombings, calling for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
