IS killed more than 4,000 since Syria territorial defeat: monitorBEIRUT, June 29, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Islamic State fighters have killed nearly 4,100 people in Syria since 2019 when the jihadists lost their last stronghold in the country, a war monitor said Saturday. IS overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a so-called caliphate and launching a reign of terror in June of that year. More than half of the 4,085 victims fell in Syria's vast Badia desert, which runs from the outskirts of Damascus to the Iraqi border. IS fighters have killed more than 2,500 government loyalists and soldiers in the Badia since their so-called caliphate fell, according to the Observatory. The group has sustained heavy damage, losing more than 2,000 fighters including top leaders since 2019, the report found.
