2 Iranian-backed militants killed in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Unknown gunmen, likely to be Islamic State (ISIS) cells, killed on Monday two militants of an Iranian-backed militia in Deir ez-Zor Governorate in eastern Syria.
The gunmen targeted a patrol of Liwa al-Quds militia in the south of Deir ez-Zor, killing two of the militia’s members.
Unknown gunmen raising ISIS flag attacked, with machine guns, a military patrol of the Liwa al-Quds near al-Shola Desert, south of Deir ez-Zor, a military source of Liwa al-Quds said.
The attack resulted in the killing of Ali al-Abd, 34, and Abdul Ghafour al-Hussein, 32, who were members of the Liwa al-Quds.
The militia brought large military reinforcements to the area to pursue the attackers, who fled to an unknown location in the desert, the source noted.
The Syrian Desert covers nearly half of the area of Syria, and is distributed over the governorates of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Rif Dimashq, Suwayda and Palmyra.
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 the Islamic State Organization (ISIS) sleeper cells.