Syrian forces down drone in eastern city

Syrian troops Wednesday downed a drone in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, state-run SANA news agency reported.

Citing a military source, SANA said the Syrian troops downed the drone flying over the al-Makaber area in Deir al-Zour, giving no further details about the identity of the drone and who could have possibly sent it over the city.

Meanwhile, the pro-government Sham FM radio said the Syrian forces Wednesday destroyed a booby-trapped Humvee car that was driven by a fighter of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group and was headed toward one of the military checkpoints in Deir al-Zour, Xinhua reported citing SANA. It said the troops blew up the car before it reached its destination.

Separately, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS lost contact with 30 of its fighters in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobane on the Syrian-Turkish border, adding that the IS fired over 23 shells into the city since Wednesday morning.