DAMASCUS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- As many as 14 soldiers were killed and 19 others wounded on Tuesday when a military bus came under Islamic State (IS) attack in Syria's Homs Province, a war monitor reported.

The incident happened when the IS militants attacked a military bus transporting soldiers near the T-3 oil station in the sprawling desert region in the remote eastern countryside of Homs, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based watchdog group said the injured were transported to the Tadmur Hospital in the city of Palmyra for treatment.

A source in the Homs governorate office confirmed the incident to Xinhua, saying the official count is yet to be announced.

The Syrian desert has been witnessing a notable increase in IS attacks since the beginning of 2024 in various areas within the government's control, said the Observatory.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Syrian military officer and a pro-government fighter were killed in the desert of Athraya in the countryside of Raqqa province in northern Syria by an IS attack, according to the Observatory.

On Jan. 5, two Syrian military personnel were killed in an ambush carried out by the IS group in the desert region east of Homs, according to the local Sham FM radio.

The IS group has lost key areas in Syria, but its fighters have opted to reposition and guerrilla warfare in the sprawling desert region. Enditem

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