64 dead as Syria regime, IS clash; Army advances through Raqa

Fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and the Islamic State group has killed 64 combatants in Raqa province over a 24-hour period, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said on Wednesday.

The clashes come with the army pressing an advance through Raqa, in northern Syria, towards neighbouring Deir Ezzor, the only remaining province of the war-ravaged country still in the hands of the jihadists.