Syrian troops and allied militia have pushed back Islamic State militants and U.S-backed opposition fighters, gaining control of a large swath of territory in the country’s strategic southern desert, the government-controlled media and a war monitor said Saturday.
Also Saturday, the U.S.-led coalition leading the campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria’s northeast, acknowledged it has conducted airstrikes near the IS-controlled town of Mayadeen earlier in the week, targeting the group’s “propaganda facilities.” In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, the U.S.-led coalition said it is looking into reports the airstrikes killed over two dozen civilians, but added the claims were “unsubstantiated” and lacked “specificity or evidence.”
