DAMASCUS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 35 government forces have been killed over the past 48 hours as a result of intense Islamic State (IS) attack in eastern Syria, a war monitor reported on Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the IS militants have launched intense attacks on Syrian government's forces in the desert region in eastern Syria since April 14.
The most intense attack has been taking place over the past 48 hours when IS militants besieged two government forces' battalions near the town of Sukhneh in the eastern countryside of Homs province.
Following the loss of its key areas, the IS militants are still present in a desert region estimated at 4,000 sq km in the desert region in eastern Syria, according to the observatory.
The IS militants lost their last stronghold in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province earlier this year to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
With their latest offensives, the IS militants are trying to prove that they are capable of fomenting chaos and launch offensives in addition to the bombings that have taken place recently in a number of Syrian areas.
