Unidentified gunmen clash with IRGC militants in Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, clashes erupted between unknown gunmen, expected to be of the Islamic State Organization (ISIS), and militants of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor Governorate in eastern Syria.
The clashes resulted in the injury of six members of the IRGC.
Unknown gunmen attacked three military posts of the IRGC on the highway between the town of Buqrus and the city of al-Mayadin, some 40 km east of Deir ez-Zor, a military source of the Syrian government forces said.
The source added that the attackers used machineguns, and that six members of the IRGC were injured.
Following the attack, the Lions of the East Army faction (Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya), a government-backed faction, brought in huge reinforcements to support the IRGC, but they were ambushed, as unidentified attackers targeted one of the faction’s vehicle with an RPG-7 which led to the killing of two militants.
The source pointed out that the attackers numbered 10 and they were wearing ISIS uniform.
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 ISIS sleeper cells.
On Sunday, a group of ISIS militants infiltrated the military engineering post of the government forces in the town of Dewier, 70 kilometers east of Deir ez-Zor, leading to clashes between the two parties for over half an hour.
The clashes led to the killing of three soldiers of the government forces.