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At least five Syrian soldiers and pro-regime militiamen were killed and as many were wounded in an ISIS ambush in the al-Mayadeen desert in eastern Deir Ezzor province, according to NGO OSDH and media close to Damascus.
With our correspondent in Beirut, Paul Khalifeh
ISIS fighters attacked rockets and automatic weapons with a patrol of Syrian government troops in a desert area near the eastern city of Mayadeen in Syria. Reinforcements dispatched to assist the unit in difficulty were in turn ambushed by the jihadists, who then retreated to the Badia Desert.
A guerrilla
The Syrian army is the victim of a real guerrilla war in this vast desert area that extends to the border with Iraq. Despite the strong reinforcements and active support of the Russian army , Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Lebanese Hezbollah , government troops are failing to secure the region, which is becoming synonymous with death and disappearance. The jihadists suddenly emerge from the desert, strike, then disappear where they came from.
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In early July, six Syrian soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in an IS ambush north-east of the ancient city of Palmyra. Since the beginning of May, 150 soldiers and pro-regime militiamen have been killed and around 20 others have been abducted by jihadists. The latter lost only 40 combatants during the same period.