Islamic State group seizes central Syrian town following clashes with

Fighters affiliated with the Islamic State group captured a key town in central Syria Wednesday night after fierce fighting with government troops, a monitor said Thursday.

ISIL’s invasion started after three Takfiri bombers targeted checkpoints manned by Syrian soldiers at entrances to the city early on Wednesday.

It said the capture of the town links IS-held Palmyra with the Qalamun area.

In a separate attack, the United States launched its first drone strike against ISIS from Turkey, reported BBC News.

A Pentagon spokesman did not give any further details about the strike, which reportedly took place on Monday.

Late last month, Turkey began carrying out airstrikes against IS targets in Syria.

The heavily populated town of Qaryatain lies southwest of Palmyra, which is home to towering Roman ruins, and 85km from Homs city.

Qaryatain is composed of a approximately 40,000 Sunni Muslims and Christians, and also contains thousands of displaced people who had to flee from Homs.

According to the SOHR, the capture of the town could help IS move fighters and material between Palmyra and territory that it controls in Qalamun, to the west.

He added that a complete of 37 pro-regime fighters have been killed within the preventing, which additionally claimed the lives of 23 ISIS militants.

Since the civil war began after anti-government protests in March 2011, more than 230,000 Syrians have died.

The battle in Syria, which just lately entered its fifth yr, has raged on between the embattled authorities led by President Bashar al-Assad and numerous insurgent teams, together with a number of Islamist teams affiliated with ISIS or al Qaeda.