BEIRUT: ISIS militants have killed at least 40 Syrian government forces in consecutive attacks on three checkpoints in central Syria, activists said Saturday.
In less than two hours of clashes on Friday, ISIS seized the checkpoints near Sheikh Hilal, a village in Syria's Hama province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"The clashes killed 40 government loyalists, including soldiers and members of the National Defense Forces," a local pro-government militia, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.