Daesh attack on Syria oil convoy kills 7 — monitor

BEIRUT — Daesh extremists attacked a convoy of oil tankers guarded by the army in the Syrian desert on Tuesday, killing seven people including two civilians, a war monitor said.

The attackers used machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

In March 2019, Daesh lost the last territory it had held in Syria following a military campaign backed by a US-led coalition, but extremist remnants continue to hide out in the desert and launch deadly attacks.

They have used such hideouts to ambush civilians, Kurdish-led forces, Syrian army troops and pro-Iran fighters, while also mounting attacks in neighbouring Iraq.

Last week, Daesh extremists claimed responsibility for a rare bombing in Damascus that killed at least six people near the capital's Sayyida Zeinab Mausoleum, Syria's most visited Shiite pilgrimage site.