At least 86 pro-regime fighters were killed in Syria over the past week in battles against the Islamic State, as regime forces push to clear jihadists from their last stronghold in Damascus, a monitor said on Saturday.
The jihadists have lost 57 fighters in the clashes in the Hajar al-Aswad district on the outskirts of Damascus since May 5, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Retaking the area, which includes Hajar al-Aswad and the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk, would place the regime in full control of the capital and its surroundings for the first time since 2012.
“The clashes continue. Despite its firepower, the regime has been unable to achieve any significant advance on the ground for a week,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Government forces have retaken 60% of Hajar al-Aswad, but jihadists still control 80% of Yarmuk, according to the Syrian Observatory.
