65 ISIS Commanders Trapped in East Euphrates

Clashes stopped on Tuesday between the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, and ISIS militants around axes in the pockets controlled by the terrorist group in the eastern part of the Deir Ezzor countryside, after SDF forces succeeded to tighten their grip on the militants in the towns of Hajeen, Susa and Sha’afah.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the conflict, said, “after tightening the noose on ISIS militants in its last pocket on the east bank of Euphrates River and in preparation for their surrender, the SDF stopped their attack in countryside of Deir Ezzor.”

In Syria’s eastern oil-rich Deir Ezzor province, ISIS is putting up a last stand in the middle Euphrates River valley.

Quoting reliable sources, the Observatory said there are more than 65 first-rank ISIS commanders trapped in Hajeen, a town in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.

It said the majority of those commanders are of Iraqi nationality.

“There are more than 800 ISIS detainees in the town of Hajeen, their fate is unknown until the moment,” the sources added.

In the past 24 hours, the SDF, supported by French and American forces, controlled a strategic hill near al-Baghuz Foqani area, after violent clashes between their forces and ISIS.

Meanwhile, at least 26 Syrian regime fighters and Iranian-backed militiamen were killed Tuesday in a sudden assault by ISIS militants in the Syrian Desert, after militants were evacuated from Damascus to the region.

ISIS militants detonated a booby-trapped vehicle in a gathering of regime forces and their allies in the Syrian Desert.

This attack came hours after hundreds of ISIS gunmen, left southern Damascus Saturday and Sunday aboard 32 buses, heading toward the desert in the east of the country following a secret deal with the government.

Source: 65 ISIS Commanders Trapped in East Euphrates | Asharq AL-awsat