Syrian desert | Member of NDF killed during armed clashes with ISIS in Al-Rusafah desert
A member of National Defence Forces was killed during armed clashes with ISIS members in Al-Rusafah desert in Al-Raqqah countryside.
It is worth noting that regime forces have launched a combing operation in Al-Rusafah desert searching for ISIS cells, along with Russian airstrikes on ISIS hideouts in the desert.
According to SOHR statistics, the number of fatalities in military operations in the Syrian desert since early 2023 has increased to 580 and they are as follows:
- 44 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.
- 371 members of regime forces and their proxy militias, including 53 Iranian-backed Syrian and non-Syrian militiamen, were killed in 154 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.
- 165 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: 56 operations left 255 fatalities:
- 146 combatants, including 26 Iranian-backed militias.
- 89 civilians, including a woman.
- 20 ISIS members.
-Al-Raqqah desert: 14 operations left 40 fatalities:
- 36 combatants.
- Three ISIS members.
- One civilian.
-Deir Ezzor desert: 61 operations which left 177 fatalities:
- 144 combatants, including 22 Iranian-backed militias.
- 14 ISIS members.
- 19 civilians.
-Hama desert: 18 operations which left 97 fatalities:
- 53 civilians.
- 37 combatants, including five Iranian-backed militiamen.
- Seven ISIS members.
-Aleppo desert: Four operations left five combatants, including two members of the 25th Division, and three civilians dead.
-Al-Suwaidaa desert: One operation left three combatants dead