After they advanced to less than 50 km southwest of Al-Bukamal, the regime forces carry out operation towards the east to fortify their advancing forces and get ISIS away

Areas in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor near the banks of the Euphrates River were shelled by warplanes, causing material damage and no information about human losses, while the southwestern desert of al-Bukamal witnessed violent escalation of clashes again between ISIS from Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities  against members of the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian, Arab and Asian nationalities, which were concentrated in the Second Station area, where the regime forces expanded their areas of control in the desert in order to prevent the organization of carrying out repel attacks, as well as fortifying their position to confront the attack in case it took place, and after the regime forces advanced to an area less than 50 km away from the outskirts of Al-Bukamal city, the regime forces carried out operations in horizontal way from the east to the west, through which they seek to expand their areas of control to further secure the advancing forces.

This fighting between both parties coincides with intensive shelling by the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them on the clash area, amid airstrikes by warplanes on the clash areas and information about more casualties in the ranks of the both parties.

The SOHR published on 31st of October that the regime forces and after 72 hours of being sent away to a distance of about 65 km south-west of Al-Bokamal, managed to absorb the counter attack and they carried out a new attack under a cover of intensive shelling, enabled them to advance and became at a distance of about 50 km away from of Al-Bokamal city, amid the continuation of the fighting between the both parties, in continuous attempts by the regime forces by the regime forces to reach the city in order to impose full control over it, the advancement also enabled them to fortify their positions in (T 2).

This violent fighting was accompanied by intensive raids by the Russian warplanes as well as regime’s warplanes, and shelling by the regime forces on the controlled areas of the organization, and exchange of targeting in the contact areas and detonating booby trapped vehicles and explosive belts, which caused more human losses, in which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented during the battles of advancement to Al-Bokamal, and the clashes of hit-and-run and the advancement and the withdrawals during them, on the western banks of the Euphrates River, and the south-western desert of Al-Bokamal, the increase of the number of the casualties of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities to 98 members at least, while the number of the casualties of the “Islamic State” organization, has increased to 124 members at least including commanders, of who have been killed in the shelling, clashes and raids since the 23rd of October 2017, until today the 31st of October 2017, and the violent clashes between the both parties left injuries, some of them are still in serious cases, which may raise the death toll.