An ambush by Syrian rebels on pro-regime forces near Damascus this week killed 76 fighters, a monitor said Saturday, in one of the deadliest attacks of its kind since the conflict began. Rebels from the powerful Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) rebel group opened fire last Sunday on around 240 government forces that were preparing to storm the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Observatory said at the time of the attack, which it described as “the largest ambush of regime forces in the war,” that 35 people had died. Director Rami Abdel Rahman on Saturday gave a new toll, documenting 45 pro-regime fighters killed by gunfire and another 31 killed when landmines were detonated during the clashes. READ MORE
