ISIS kills 23 Syrian soldiers in overnight attack: SOHR
The attack took place in the desert of Al-Mayadeen, leaving 23 Syrian soldiers dead.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – In an overnight assault on a military bus in the Deir ez-Zor region, ISIS claimed the lives of 23 Syrian soldiers, as reported by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The attack took place in the desert of Al-Mayadeen, leaving 23 Syrian soldiers dead and 13 injured, according to the SOHR. The death toll is anticipated to increase due to the severity of the injuries sustained, the report added.
Read More: IS attack on Syria oil convoy kills 7: monitor
On Aug. 1st, ISIS militants targeted an army-guarded convoy of oil tankers in the Syrian desert, resulting in the deaths of seven individuals, including two civilians.
As per the most recent report from the US Defense Department's Lead Inspector General, published in August, ISIS has mainly operated in remote zones of the Syrian Desert, often near more densely populated areas, and has faced limited pressure from pro-regime forces.
Control over Deir ez-Zor's east bank along the Euphrates River lies with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), while the west bank is under the authority of the Syrian government and its allies.
The Pentagon report cited insights from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which indicated that anti-ISIS operations conducted by the Syrian government and Iran-backed forces in the desert have shown limited effectiveness.
“These forces rely on both a network of checkpoints, and on intermittent and ineffective mounted ground patrols around known ISIS operating areas,” the report said.
“The DIA said that these tactics did not durably dislodge ISIS members operating in the Syrian Desert during the quarter. Syrian regime forces rely on less experienced military units, foreign partners, and poorly disciplined Syrian paramilitary forces to prevent ISIS’s low-level insurgency in the desert from growing.”
Moreover, the DIA said that some of these security forces, notably Iran-backed foreign units, alienate locals around ISIS operating areas.