Syrian desert | Russian jets execute over 50 airstrikes on ISIS positions, after death of seven regime soldiers and Russian-backed militias

SOHR activists have seeing three Russian fighter jets consecutively targeting, since last night, positions where ISIS fighters holed up in the Syrian desert, as over 50 airstrikes hit positions in the area from Jabal al-Ammour and al-Sukhnah desert in Homs to al-Rassafah desert in al-Raqqah.

 

SOHR sources reported earlier today a spike in the death toll of regime soldiers and Russian-backed militiamen in the Syrian desert, as five members of the Russian-backed Liwaa al-Quds were killed in an attack by ISIS members on their position in Jabal al-Ammour in Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs.

 

Accordingly, the number of fatalities in the past 24 hours rose to seven, as SOHR activists documented yesterday the death of two regime soldiers in clashes with ISISI members in al-Sukhnah desert in the eastern countryside of Homs, near the administrative border with Deir Ezzor. The death toll was expected to rise further as the attack left seven other injured, some seriously.

 

This attack coincided with the escalating activities by ISIS throughout the Syrian desert.

 

On Friday, SOHR sources reported that uncertainty surrounded the circumstances of the death of a regime soldier whose body was found near al-Mazare’ area in al-Mayadeen desert in eastern Deir Ezzor, which hosts the largest gathering of Iranian-backed militias in west Euphrates region.

 

Since 24th of March 2019, SOHR has documented the killing of at least 1,554 regime soldiers and loyalists of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, including at least two Russians, and 153 Iranian-backed militiamen of non-Syrian nationalities. All were killed in attacks, bombings and ambushes by the “Islamic State”, west of Euphrates in the deserts of Deir Ezzor, al-Raqqah, Homs, al-Suwaidaa, Hama and Aleppo.

 

Also, four civilians working in gas fields, tens of shepherds and other civilians were killed and documented by SOHR in the same period, from late March 2019 until today. They were killed in attacks by ISIS cells. While 1,050 ISIS members were also killed in attacks and bombardment in the same period.