Attacks by the Islamic State group and Russian strikes against the jihadists in Syria have killed 18 fighters in 24 hours, a war monitor said Thursday. Russian air strikes on positions held by IS in desert areas of the Hama and Raqa provinces killed nine jihadists, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based war monitor said the death toll could rise since at least 22 others were wounded in the strikes, some of them seriously. The latest of the 230 air raids carried out in Syria this year by Russia came after two IS attacks in the Deir Ezzor province killed nine fighters al…