BEIRUT – A monitor said Tuesday three dozen pro-government fighters werekilled in a district of Syria’s capital as Islamic State militants tookcontrol of it in a surprise nighttime attack.

There was no immediate comment from the government on the report by theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, which could not provide casualtyfigures for the militants.

“IS took full control of Qadam, and 36 government troops and loyalistfighters have been killed,” the Britain-based monitoring group said.

Dozens more were wounded or captured, or are still missing in action,Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

IS launched the attack from positions it holds in the adjacent Hajaral-Aswad district, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

“Regime forces are bringing reinforcements to the area around Qadam to tryto retake it,” he said.

Qadam lies in a southern part of Damascus and has for several years hosteda range of Islamist rebels and extremists, including IS and its arch-enemy,Al-Qaeda’s onetime Syrian branch Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The Syrian government has used both military pressure and negotiatedsettlements to try to clear the area.

Last week, hundreds of HTS fighters evacuated the district under a dealwith Damascus that granted them and their family members safe passage, withmost heading northwest to Idlib province.

IS militants have even agreed to evacuate the district in the past.

The militant group put out a statement late Monday saying it had capturedmost of Qadam, including areas “surrendered” to regime forces by HTS.

The district is smaller than and not connected to Eastern Ghouta, an areaeast of the capital which is home to hundreds of thousands of civilians andrebels.

Syrian troops are waging a separate offensive there. – APP/AFP