Syrian government forces end anti-ISIS campaign in Syrian Desert
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militias ended on Sunday the military campaign that they launched in the Syrian Desert due to losses in military personnel and ammunition.
A military source of the government forces told North Press that in an urgent meeting with Iranian leaders, the government forces had decided to end the campaign.
On Dec. 4, the government forces, supported by Russian warplanes, have launched a military campaign in the Syrian Desert with the objective of targeting and eliminating sleeper cells of the Islamic State (ISIS).
The source said that the government forces had claimed that they had ended the campaign due to bad weather conditions.
The government forces merely installed guard posts in the desert, according to the source.
The campaign started from two directions; the first started from Homs eastern countryside reaching al-Sukhna desert and led by the Iranian-backed militias, while the second started from al-Sukhna desert reaching the southern countryside of Deir ez-Zor and led by the government forces.
The campaign coincided with attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS) on the government forces and the Iranian-backed militias in the Syrian Desert and Deir ez-Zor countryside.
The source stressed that the campaign was ended due to losses in military personnel and ammunition that resulted from ISIS attacks, denying the government forces’ claims about the weather conditions.
The Syrian Desert occupies approximately half of Syria’s territory, covering an area of 80,000 square kilometers. It is known for its abundance of valuable resources, including gas fields, oil wells, and phosphates. Before the onset of the war, Syria was ranked fifth in global phosphate production.
For years, the government forces and the Iran-backed militias have been conducting campaigns targeting ISIS cells in the Syrian Desert. The desert’s valleys and mountains have provided a favorable environment for ISIS militants to establish hideouts and launch surprise attacks.
On Nov. 26-27 alone, the radical group killed 16 Syrian government soldiers and injured 27 others in the Deir ez-Zor desert.
Despite repeated campaigns, the extremist group remains heavily present in the Syrian Desert and occasionally claims responsibility for operations against the government forces.