A roadside bomb killed at least 12 pro-regime fighters Saturday on a bus in Daraa, the cradle of Syria's nine-year-old uprising, a war monitor said.
The attack in the village of Kihel in the southern province of Daraa also wounded 19 others, some of them critically, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The casualties were members of the Eighth battalion in the Russian fifth brigade.
A source from Daraa, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the German news agency (dpa) that an improvised explosive device blasted as the bus was passing.
The explosion resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries, the source said, adding that the total of casualties is likely to rise.
A source from the Southern Front stated that the 8th Battalion was initially formed by Russians in coordination with Ahmed al-Awda, the commander of the Shabab al-Sunna (“Sunni Youth”) forces, in 2018 following the intervention of Russian forces and leaders seeking reconciliation in Daraa.
Moreover, Daraa governorate is witnessing an escalation in hidden conflict between the 5th brigade formed by Russia and the 4th Division led by Maher al-Assad, brother of the Syrian regime’s president. Meanwhile, attempts continue by each side to impose full control on Daraa.
According to Observatory sources, the 4th Division seeks to recruit men and young men, especially former opposition fighters by offering monthly salaries and other incentives. It has recently managed to polarize new batch of recruits, comprising dozens of fighters, and was sent to the checkpoints after undergoing military training in the western countryside of Daraa.
Yet, the Russians still have the upper hand on the situation through the fifth brigade, which includes former opposition fighters who have refused to flee their areas and get their status settled.
