Six shepherds killed by Islamic state fighters in Homs region

Six Syrian shepherds were killed on Saturday by fighters from the jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS), who stole their livestock in the desert region of central Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

After seizing vast territories in Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, ISIS suffered successive defeats, culminating in its 2019 defeat in Syria. However, jihadists who retreated into the Syrian desert have continued to carry out attacks against civilians, the forces of the ousted regime, and Kurdish forces.

"Six shepherds were killed at dawn by ISIS gunmen who stole their livestock and fled near Palmyra," SOHR said.

Since the fall of Damascus to an Islamist-led rebel coalition, which toppled President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, ISIS has killed 18 civilians and over 50 soldiers of the former regime in the desert, according to the NGO.

The soldiers were reportedly captured and executed as they "fled [...] during the regime's collapse," SOHR added.

Some experts fear that ISIS could exploit Syria’s transitional phase to regroup in the desert, a scenario Washington has vowed to prevent. On Friday in Ankara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the "imperative" of continuing efforts against ISIS following Assad's fall.