IS attack in Syria desert kills 26 regime forces: monitor

A surprise Islamic State group attack on a Syrian regime position killed more than two dozen pro-government forces in the country's vast desert, a monitor said.

"At least 26 regime soldiers and allied forces were killed in an IS attack at dawn today, against one of their posts in the Syrian Badiya," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Badiya is a vast desert region stretching from central Syria to the eastern border with Iraq, where IS still holds small pockets.