At least 30 Syrian troops and 20 Islamic State militants were killed on Wednesday when the jihadist group launched an attack on government-held areas in central Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The fighting was focused around the town of al-Sukhna, some 220 km (140 miles), east of the city of Homs. A Syrian military source earlier confirmed the attack, saying it had been repelled in some places while fighting continued in others.
The Observatory is a British-based organization that gathers its information via a network of sources inside Syria.