The regime forces continue the offensive west of Euphrates in an effort to end the presence of the “Islamic State” organization in the area
Deir Ezzor Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the 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 east of Al-Mayadin city and other areas west of al-Bokamal city, where the clashes are taking place in the two separate areas in which the regime forces managed to besiege the organization’s members within, and the clash are accompanied by continuous aerial bombardment by warplanes believed to be Russian, in addition to rocket shelling, where the regime forces are trying to impose their control over the entire western banks of Euphrates River and end the presence of the “Islamic State” organization in the area .
It worth mentioning that the Syrian Observatory published on Saturday, the 25th of November 2017, that the military operation in Al-Bokamal and its countryside, completed its 10th consecutive day, of the second battle of Al-Bokamal and the clashes followed it, during which the regime forces carried out operations enabled them to control large areas of Al-Bokamal and its countryside, by taking the control of areas and scattering the force of ISIS, through wide, violent counter attacks, confined the organization in the west of the Euphrates River, in the last 4 towns and villages in the western banks of the Euphrates River, in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the regime forces managed to impose their siege over the organization from 3 sides while the forces side is besieged naturally due to the presence of the Euphrates River, in which the organization is besieged in two separated pockets one of them is in the west of Al-Bokamal, and the other is in the east of Al-Mayadin city, and if the regime forces mange to take the control of them during the next few days, then they will be able to impose their control over the entire west of the Euphrates River, and end the presence of the organization in the area completely.
In the same context the “Islamic State” organization resists fiercely, during its attempts to repel the advancement of the regime forces in the two pockets that are under its control, and although the warplanes affiliated to the regime and Russia carried out intensive strikes during the past 24 hours, and previously, the organization still shows desperate effort in al-Quriyah area and the vicinity of al-Asharah, which are located in the pocket in the east of Al-Mayadin, to repel the attempts of the regime forces to advance an take the control of them and expel the organization from them, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the organization refuses any negotiations lead to its withdrawal from the area, and it prefers to fight till the end.
And the violent clashes between the both parties caused the increase of the human losses in their ranks, whose death is documented by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in which the number of casualties of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them of Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi, Iranian, Afghan and Palestinian nationalities of who were killed in Al-Bokamal city and its vicinity and countryside, has increased to 181 members at least, including 67 Syrian members, and 15 members of the Lebanese Hezbollah, while the rest members are of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces as well as , Iraqi, Palestinian, Iranian and Afghan members, and the total death toll includes 30 members of who were killed in clashes in the vicinity and the countryside of Al-Bokamal, during the past 10 days, and the number of the casualties of the “Islamic State” organization who were killed in these clashes during the same period, has increased to 156 members at least, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the injury of tens of them with varying degrees of severity, which may raise the death toll.
It is noteworthy that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on Sunday the 19th of November 2017, that it monitored that the regime forces and the militiamen loyal to them of Syrian nationality, the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Iraqi Nujabaa Movement and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard start sweeping al-Bokamal city which they managed to control after the withdrawal of the remaining members of the “Islamic State” organization from the last city they used to control in Syria, this control came after violent clashes that killed and injured tens of both parties during the past 3 days, where the regime forces were able to enter the city on Thursday the 16th of November 2017; after the organization’s expel of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, by counterattacks that targeted them inside the city.