62 fighters dead in Daesh Damascus attack

BEIRUT: A lightning assault by the Islamic State group that put the militants in control of a southern part of the Syrian capital killed 62 regime fighters, a monitor said Wednesday in a new toll.

Daesh (IS) launched the surprise attack on Monday night to seize the Qadam neighbourhood of Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor gave an initial toll on Tuesday of 36 pro-government fighters dead, but said that loyalists had retrieved additional bodies since.