BEIRUT: At least 28 pro-government fighters were killed in suspected attacks by Islamic State militants in Syria, a war monitor said on Friday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 22 Syrian soldiers and allied fighters were killed in an attack on a military bus late Thursday night. Seven other people were injured in the attack near the town of al-Taybah in the eastern part of the country.

Six Syrian soldiers were killed in another attack in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, the watchdog said.

No group has claimed responsibility but the Observatory said the Islamic State group was likely behind the attacks.

The extremist militant group once controlled large swathes of land in western and northern Iraq plus parts of Syria. It was defeated in late 2017 but cells are still active in both countries.