Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah Is Reinforcing Its Positions In Syria’s Deir Ezzor
Members of Kata’ib Hezbollah walk along a street painted in the colors of the Israeli flag during the annual Quds Day parade in Baghdad. (Photo by Reuters)
Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) is reinforcing its military positions in the southern countryside of Syria’s Deir Ezzor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on August 20.
According to the London-based monitoring group, KH fighters are currently building fortifications around their positions in the outskirt of the city of al-Mayadin.
“They [HA fighters] have raised dirt barriers, and placed cement roadblocks near their deployment points in the region’s desert,” the SOHR’s report reads.
These new defensive measures came after a series of attacks by ISIS terrorists on the southern and western Deir Ezzor countryside.
On August 15, ISIS cells ambushed fighters of Liwa al-Quds and the Syrian Arab Army 4th Division in western Deir Ezzor. At least one pro-government fighter was killed. Three days later, a Russian convoy was attacked in southern Deir Ezzor. A Russian major-general was killed and two service members were injured. ISIS was reportedly behind the attack.
ISIS terrorists are launching attacks on western and southern Deir Ezzor from their hideouts in the Homs desert, which lays in the central region.
The defensive measures being taken by KH will likely help secure al-Mayadin. Nevertheless, much more is needed to be done in order to eliminate ISIS threat.
Source: Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah Is Reinforcing Its Positions In Syria’s Deir Ezzor: Monitoring Group