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Syrian Army soldiers at Deir Ezzor on October 31, 2017 (image for illustration). STRINGER / AFP

ISIS has launched a series of attacks against positions of the Syrian army and its allies west of the Euphrates in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. At least ten Syrian soldiers were killed and three others kidnapped while five jihadists were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

With our correspondent in Beirut, Paul Khalifeh

The deadliest attack took place near the town of Bou Kamal on the Syrian-Iraqi border. ISIS fighters have launched simultaneous assaults on positions of the Syrian army and its allies. Heavy fighting punctuated with rocket and mortar shell fire lasted for hours.

In the northern city of al-Mayadeen , the Islamic State has used a trick to kidnap militiamen close to Iran. The jihadists set a fire on fire near a base of government troops and captured three scouts. Despite the reinforcements dispatched by the Syrian army, the three prisoners were exfiltrated to the desert of Badia.

The Islamic State group remains very active on both banks of the Euphrates. Its dormant cells are harassing the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) east of the river and attacking government troops in the west.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that 210 Syrian soldiers and 72 jihadists have been killed since March. Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Russian soldiers also perished in this desert area called the death triangle.

► See also: Syria: ISIS reconverted into guerrilla warfare