Syrian army tracks down ISIS in central desert with support from Russian air force

A Russian soldier stands guard on a central street in Deir Ezzor (file photo).

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The Russian air force carried out dozens of raids on Monday (June 14th) in the central Syrian desert, where troops from Damascus have been maneuvering against the Islamic State group since early June.

The fighting has claimed victims on both sides, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

Paul Khalifeh

The Russian air force on Monday launched more than 40 raids in the central Syrian desert in support of the Syrian army's ground operations against the Islamic State group.

The sweeping campaign led by government troops has continued for several days in this vast territory which stretches from the region of Homs, in the center, to the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

These military operations, which aim to track down the cells of the Islamic State group, on Monday claimed victims in both camps, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Since the beginning of June, around thirty Syrian soldiers have been killed in attacks, ambushes, or in the explosion of mines laid by the jihadists.

A war of attrition

The Islamic State group's guerrilla warfare against the Syrian army and its allies in the desert has turned into a never-ending war of attrition that has left more than 1,500 dead in the ranks of government troops and a thousand on the jihadist side since the fall of the self-proclaimed caliphate of Daesh, in March 2019.

The Islamic State group has thousands of fighters, arms caches and desert retreat bases.

Its strategy is to harass the Syrian army by attacking its supply lines and the main roads that connect the center to the east of the country.

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See also: 

Syria: around twenty Allied soldiers and fighters killed in attacks by the IS group

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