Conflict between ISIS, government renews in Syria’s Desert
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Syria’s Desert, where ISIS are active, has recently turned to a battleground between the sleeper cells of the Islamic State organization (ISIS) on one side and Syrian government forces along with the Iranian-backed militias on the other, as combing campaigns by the government forces continue to pursue the cells.
In June, ISIS sleeper cells carried out about 11 operations in the Syrian Desert during which 42 members of the government forces were killed, and 31 others were wounded, in addition to the death of a resident and the injury of 14 others, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
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.
ISIS lost its final stronghold in Syria in 2019. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with the support of the US-led Global Coalition defeated ISIS after fierce battles in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, bringing an end to the so-called caliphate declared by the terrorist ISIS in 2014.
After Baghouz, ISIS sleeper cells were mostly active in the Syrian Desert.
A few days ago, the government forces launched a combing campaign, with Russian air coverage, in the Desert of al-Bushri and al-Rasafa, south of Raqqa and east of the city of Homs, to pursue ISIS cells.
The campaign came in response to targeting a bus of the Syrian government forces in the countryside of Raqqa city, which resulted in the killing of 18 members of the government forces.