DAMASCUS, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- A total of 16 Syrian soldiers and 20 Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed over the past few days in battles in the Syrian desert, a war monitor reported on Saturday.
The battles have been raging in the desert region of the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, and Raqqa in northern Syria amid Russian airstrikes on the IS positions, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The UK-based watchdog group said the desert battles have been raging since March, with 740 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters, and 349 IS militants killed since then.
The IS militants have lost key areas across Syria but they have a thick presence in the desert region in northern and eastern Syria. Enditem
