Escalating ISIS activity | NDF member killed in western Deir Ezzor countryside
Deir Ezzor province: A member of the National Defence Forces in his thirties was shot dead by unidentified gunmen believed to be of ISIS cells, where his body was found near Al-Masreb town in western Deir Ezzor countryside within areas controlled by regime forces and Iranian-backed militias.
According to SOHR statistics, the number of fatalities in military operations in the Syrian desert since early 2023 has increased to 348; and they are as follows:
- 18 ISIS members were killed in clashes with regime forces and Russian airstrikes on ISIS hideouts in the deserts of Homs, Al-Suwaidaa, Hama, Al-Raqqah, Deir Ezzor and Aleppo.
- 176 members of regime forces and their proxy militias, including 36 Iranian-backed Syrian and non-Syrian militiamen, were killed in 95 operations by ISIS members, including ambushes, armed attacks, and explosions, in west Euphrates region and the deserts of Deir Ezzor, Al-Raqqah, Homs, Al-Suwaidaa, Hama and Aleppo.
- 154 civilians, including a woman, were killed in attacks by ISIS in the Syrian desert.
Here is a regional distribution of ISIS attacks in 2023:
-Homs desert: 33 operations left 150 fatalities:
- 59 combatants, including 12 Iranian-backed militias.
- 88 civilians, including a woman.
- Five ISIS members.
-Al-Raqqah desert: Ten operations left 23 fatalities:
- 19 combatants.
- Three ISIS members.
- One civilian.
-Deir Ezzor desert: 34 operations which left 87 fatalities:
- 67 combatants, including 20 Iranian-backed militias.
- Five ISIS members.
- 15 civilian.
-Hama desert: 13 operations which left 80 fatalities:
- 47 civilians.
- 28 combatants, including four Iranian-backed militias.
- Five ISIS members.
-Aleppo desert: Three operations left three combatants, including two members of the 25th Division, and three civilians dead.