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Palestinian fighters and Syrian rebels retook control Thursday of large parts of a refugee camp in Damascus that had been seized by ISIS jihadis, an activist group said, AFP reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a number of armed groups in the Yarmouk camp in south Damascus "were able to regain control over all of the areas that ISIS had taken over." 

The jihadis had overrun the camp on Wednesday, raising fears for thousands of civilians inside and giving ISIS a potential beachhead inside Syria's capital.

But armed Palestinian groups, backed by local rebels, launched a fightback later in the day.

"Syrian rebel groups entered the camp and helped the Palestinians push back ISIS in fierce clashes," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Observatory.

Anwar Abdel Hadi, director of political affairs for the Palestine Liberation Organization in Damascus, said ISIS had been pushed "to the periphery" of the camp.

He said Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis, a group loyal to Palestinian movement Hamas, had clashed with ISIS overnight.

Six people were killed and 17 injured, he said, but he could not provide details on the toll.