Unknown gunmen carry out two separate attacks in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – On Tuesday, a Syrian government officer was killed, and a leader of an Iranian-backed militia survived an assassination attempt in two separate incidents in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
A military source from the Syrian government forces said unidentified assailants, riding a motorcycle, attacked the residence of Sultan al-Malek, an officer in The 17th Reserve Division of government forces, on the outskirts of the town of al-Mayadin, eastern Deir ez-Zor.
The source told North Press that the assailants killed the officer in his house and then escaped to the desert according to eyewitnesses.
A military source in the Iranian-backed Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas, an Iranian-backed militia, said two unknown assailants, riding a motorcycle, attacked the vehicle of the leader of Imam Ali Battalions, known as “Ali al-Iraqiya” or “Ali al-Tayyab” in the town of Abu Kamal near the Syrian-Iraqi border.
Iranian-backed militias and the government forces control large areas of the Syrian Desert and the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, which constitutes a source of concern as it witnesses intensive operations by Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells.
The source told North Press that al-Tayyab heads the special forces of the Imam Ali Battalions. The vehicle’s driver managed to drive away from the road and escape from the gunmen into the Iraqi territories.