A local leader and seven other members of a jihadist militia in southern Syria affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group were killed Sunday in Daraa province, a war monitor said.

The cradle of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad that was followed by years of war, Daraa province remains unstable despite the return of government forces in 2018 following a reconciliation agreement with rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said "a senior leader" was among the eight killed "in violent clashes between local factions" and a the IS-affiliated group.