Clashes continue in the vicinity of al-Qaryatayn in the desert of Homs and the regime forces advance in more points in its vicinity

Homs province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the regime forces shelled places in Al-Sa’en Al-Aswad village in the northern countryside of Homs, while the violent clashes continue in areas at the outskirts and vicinity of Al-Qaryatayn city in the southeastern countryside of Homs, between the “Islamic State” organization against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, amid intense aerial and rocket shelling on the clash areas, the Syrian Observatory learned that the regime forces achieved a new advancement in the area and managed to control new hills and new points, after taking control of the hills and heights controlled earlier by the organization in October 2017, when it carried out an infiltration operation in which it managed to control Al-Qaryatayn city, and it is still under the organization’s control along hills and heights around it since then.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published yesterday, that the violent fighting is continuing between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against the members of the “Islamic State” organization, in areas in Al-Sukhnah desert in the eastern countryside of Homs, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the organization carried out counter attacks during the past 24 hours, targeted the regime forces in the vicinity of the road between Al-Sukhnah and Deir Ezzor, and the organization managed to monitor the road again by positioning at nearby distances, and to attack the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them in areas on the road which is considered the main artery to Deir Ezzor city, these clashes were accompanied by violent clashes between the regime forces against members of the organization in the vicinity and the outskirts of the of Al-Qaryatayn city which has been controlled by the organization since 11 days, after groups of the organization infiltrated and carried out a surprising attack on the regime forces in the city which they had controlled in the beginning of 2016, and the clashes were accompanied by the continuation of shelling by the regime forces on the controlled areas of the organization and its positions during the past 24 hours.

Although the regime forces failed to recover the main areas that the organization controlled in the eastern countryside of Homs, they are Al-Qaryatayn city, Al-Taybah town and Dahik Mountain and other hills, heights and positions, they are continuing to fail to recover what they have lost, although two weeks passed since the organization started its counter attacks which enabled it to strike the regime forces successively deep in the areas of their control and in other areas that were controlled recently in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor and Al-Sukhnah area, in which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the death of more casualties of the both parties, thus, it has increased to 505 members of the both parties of who were killed since the 28th of September 2017, until the 11th of October 2017, in which the death toll has increased to 271 members at least of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them, including 26 members of the Lebanese Hezbollah and about 100 members of the militiamen loyal to the regime forces of non-Syrian nationalities, while the death toll rose to about 298 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.