Fresh fighting between the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and a coalition of rebels and an al-Qaeda affiliate in eastern Syria has left at least 45 fighters dead, a monitoring group said Monday.
ISIL, which grew from a former affiliate of al-Qaeda in Iraq, has faced a backlash in opposition Syria since early this year and is battling a coalition including al-Qaeda’s Al-Nusra Front and Islamist and moderate rebels.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the clashes in the town of Khosham in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor left 17 Al-Nusra and Islamist fighters dead, along with 28 ISIL members.
The fighting began on Sunday and raged through the night, the Observatory said.
