​The regime forces’ continued attacks get them closer to Al-Bukamal, the largest stronghold of ISIS in Syria and keep them 40 km away from the city

The desert of Al-Bukamal has been witnessing violent fighting and clashes amid counter attacks and operation aiming at advancing to the largest bastion remained for ISIS in Syria, and the SOHR monitored the violent clashes between the regime forces backed by their allied militiamen of Syrian, Arab and Asian nationalities, against members of ISIS in the southwestern desert of Al-Bukamal, as a result of the violent and renewed attack of the regime forces towards Al-Bukamal city, coming from the area of the second station, where the regime forces managed to advance and reach an area located 40 km away from the outskirts of the city at the banks of the Euphrates River, near the Syrian – Iraqi borders, and thus reducing the area between them and the last bastion of the organization on the Syrian territory, where the regime forces are fiercely fighting to reach the city, while the battles are accompanied by violent and heavy mortar, artillery and missile shelling and aerial bombardment by the regime forces and their warplanes and the Russian warplanes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 31st of October that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the continuation of clashes at a violent pace, between the regime forces backed by armed militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against the members of the “Islamic State” organization of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, in areas in the Second Station (T 2), which is located in the south-western desert of Al-Bokamal, where 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.