After 6 days of controlling it… ISIS detonates a booby trapped vehicle in Al-Qaryatayn city and clashes continue in the eastern desert of Homs

Homs province, the Syrian Observatory for human rights: a violent explosion rocked Al-Qaryatayn city in the southeastern countryside of Homs, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the explosion was caused by detonating a booby trapped vehicle by the “Islamic State” organization in the outskirts of city, where the explosion caused the death of at least 6 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, including a lieutenant who is the commander of the Special Task Unit in Homs, and others were injured, while the violent clashes continue between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against members of the “Islamic State” organization, in areas in Al-Qaryatayn city, which was controlled by the organization days ago, and in the eastern and northern deserts of al-Sukhnah, in an attempt by the regime forces re-advance and regain control of the areas they lost during the past few days, while the Syrian Observatory published yesterday that the “Islamic State” organization which lost its presence in the provinces of Syria, and is under tight siege in its areas in some other provinces after losing much of what it used to control, yet, it did not miss an opportunity to strike the regime and Russia in their areas, where the recent attacks by the organization have got 2 points of strength, the first one is its entry to the depth of regime forces’ controlled areas and controlling a city about 100 km away from the nearest area controlled by the organization in Homs Desert, and the second one is that the “Islamic State” organization has completed its first week of attack and entered the second week of controlling the areas it attacked on the 28th of September 2017.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored a massive and violent attack carried out by the “Islamic State” organization in late September 2017 and it was led by the “Caliphate Army”, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from reliable sources that the attacking army was led by leaders of non-Syrian nationalities (Arab and foreign) accompanied by fighters, infiltrators and suicide bombers and many of them are of the Syrian Bedouin, where this army was able during its successive and sudden attacks to exhaust the regime forces, and forced a lot of their members and gunmen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities to flee and pull out of their positions towards more fortified sites, this retreat enabled the organization to achieve an important advancement and control al-Tayba town and al-Dahek Mountain and other areas stretching from the western desert of Deir Ezzor to the eastern desert of Homs near al-Sukhnah area and the 3rd Station, also in the second phase of the attack some of groups of the organization have infiltrated and took control of Al-Qaryatayn city, located in the southeastern desert of Homs, and although the regime forces restored some of the sites they have lost, they failed to regain control of all areas they have lost until now, also the road between Deir Ezzor and al-Sukhnah is still closed after being controlled by the organization in some areas and being monitored in other areas.

The violent continuous clashes for the eighth consecutive day coincided with intense and violent shelling by the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, and targeting and explosions by the organization, where the violent fighting, shelling and exchange of targeting, have caused hundreds of casualties and injuries in the ranks of both parties, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the killing of at least 425 members of both parties since the 28th of September 2017, until the 5th of October 2017, in which the death toll rose to 206 members at least of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them, including 26 members of the Lebanese Hezbollah and about 84 members of the militiamen loyal to the regime forces of Palestinian and Asian nationalities, while the death toll rose to about 219 members of ISIS of who were killed by blowing themselves up by using explosive belts and by booby trapped vehicles and in artillery and rocket shelling and raids and clashes against the regime forces in the areas where they attacked.