Syria clashes kill 18 pro-govt fighters

Clashes in northern Syria between pro-government fighters supported by Russian air strikes, and IS group militants have killed at least 18 fighters since Thursday, a war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday that 11 regime and allied fighters and seven militants were killed in clashes in an area of the Badia desert where the provinces of Raqa, Aleppo and Hama meet, and in another area in the east of Homs province. Russian aircraft carried out strikes in support of their Syrian regime ally, the Britain-based Observatory added. — AFP