Despite its collapse and the advancement of the regime on its expense, the “Islamic State” organization targets the regime and kills about 20 members of them in the recent 24 hours
The regime forces are about 19 km away from the border of Deir Ezzor with al-Raqqa and about 140 persons of both parties were killed in 8 days of battles
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the regime forces, led by the Tiger groups and backed by their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, are continuing their military operations in the eastern countryside of Al-Raqqa, heading towards the western administrative border with Deir Ezzor. The Syrian Observatory learned that the regime forces managed to achieve a new advancement in the area and control a new village, which allowed the regime forces to approach to a distance of about 19 km from the administrative borders of Deir Ezzor, after they managed to enter the administrative border of Deir Ezzor from its southeastern part on the 23rd of June 2017.
This advancement has exhausted the energies of the regime forces’ human resources and their allied militiamen, despite the collapse of the “Islamic State” organization in the area, and its decline in the region one after another, reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the “Islamic State” organization managed to cause large human losses in the ranks of the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities within the past 24 hours. The Syrian Observatory documented the death of at least 19 members of the regime forces , including at least 11 members of the pro-regime Palestinian al-Jaleel Forces, while the SOHR documented 13 members of the “Islamic State” organization who were killed in the same clashes, rising to at least 83, the number of members of the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, who were killed since the 17th of July 2017, the date in which the “Islamic State” organization’s presence has ended in the western part of the southern countryside of al-Raqqa, while it raised to at least 54, the number of members of the organization who were killed in The same period.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published yesterday that the regime forces managed to achieve an advancement in the area located to the north of al-Bashri mountain, and controlled a village, gas station, oil well and empty areas of the desert, and the clashes are accompanied by heavy and intense shelling by the regime forces on areas of presence and control of the organization in the southeastern countryside of Al-Raqqah, where the regime forces have become about 18 km away from the Euphrates River and from the most last town controlled by the Syria Democratic Forces and the forces of Manbij Military Council supported by the International Coalition at the southern banks of the Euphrates River.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on Saturday the 22nd of July 2017 that the clashes were accompanied by explosions, exchange of shelling, and bombing by the Russian warplanes as well as regime’s warplanes, and heavy shelling by the regime forces on organization’s sites and controlled areas in Homs and Hama, which killed more members of both parties, where the Syrian Observatory has documented since the 17th of July 2017 the date of end of existence of the “Islamic State” organization in the western half of the southern countryside of Al-Raqqah and in the western countryside of Al-Raqqah, until today the 22nd of July 2017 the death of at least 57 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, including 6 officers at least, while it rose to at least 37, the number of members of the “Islamic State” organization who were killed in the same period.
The regime forces were able on the 17th of July 2017 to achieve an important advancement and control oil fields in the eastern half of the southern countryside of Al-Raqqah, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that this important advancement allowed the regime forces to reach the outskirts of the strategic mountain of al-Bashri, which is a rugged-terrain mountain and one of the most important strongholds of the “Islamic State” organization in Syria, where this mountain witnessed the visit of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi -the leader of the “Islamic State” organization- to meet with military and security commanders of the organization earlier, the mountain is extending within the administrative borders of 3 provinces and is one of the important centers of which the organization has been depending on in the supply operations and securing commanders.
This advancement comes hours after the important advancement achieved by the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian, Iranian Iraqi and Lebanese nationalities; in the southern and southwestern countryside of Al-Raqqah, during which the regime forces were able to end the presence of the “Islamic State” organization in the western half of the southern countryside of Al-Raqqah and in the western countryside of Al-Raqqah, also the regime forces have recovered hundreds of kilometers from the “Islamic State” organization in the past 72 hours, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published that the regime forces, with intensive shelling on the organization’s positions, managed to achieve an important advancement and control oilfields in the southern countryside of al-Raqqa near the administrative border of al-Raqqa with Homs, while the members of the organization withdrew from other oilfields west of the advancement area, and the regime forces started to cleanse the area of which the organization has withdrawn. With this advancement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the end of the presence of the “Islamic State” organization in the western and southwestern countryside of al-Raqqa city, and the “Islamic state” organization only controls an area extending from the south of al-Kasrat area, to the SDF-held line adjacent to the Euphrates River to the east of al-Resafa and to the administrative borders of Homs and the administrative borders with Deir Ezzor, in addition to parts of al-Raqqa province.