ISIS gunmen attack oil investor’s home in Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Local sources said that Islamic State (ISIS) militants launched on Saturday an armed attack on the home and vehicle of an oil well investor in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria.
The incident occurred in the town of al-Hajna, east of Deir ez-Zor, where the assailants opened fire with automatic weapons on the vehicle of Nazem al-Adnan, an investor involved in local oil wells, as he approached his residence.
A local source told North Press that al-Adnan managed to escape and took shelter inside his home.
The gunmen then targeted the house itself, triggering a brief exchange of fire that resulted in material damage but no reported casualties.
The source added that al-Adnan had received threats earlier that day via WhatsApp from ISIS operatives demanding payment of “zakat”—a form of alms the group attempts to impose as a form of extortion in areas where it remains active.
In a separate but possibly related incident on the same day, unidentified gunmen attacked the al-Sa’ed money transfer office in the nearby town of Shuhail in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
Local residents suspect ISIS involvement in the attack.