(Zaman Al Wasl)- ISIS new agency posted footage on social media shows dozens of slain regime troops said they have been killed in eastern Deir Ezzor province.
Amaq said ISIS fighters had killed more than 48 regime forces, including top officers, near al-Shoula town west of Deir Ezzor in the past 48 hours after surprise advance against regime army and allied Shiite militias.
Islamic State’s assault marks the first major counterattack against the Syrian army and its allies since they broke through a swathe of territory to reach the city of Deir Ezzor earlier this month.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Islamic State attacks had killed more than 58 fighters from the Syrian army and allied forces since Thursday.
Islamic State said on Thursday it had killed around 100 regime fighters south of the town of al-Sukhna, which is also located on the road to Deir Ezzor, and announced it had taken a hill overlooking the town.
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi pressed his followers to “stand fast” and keep fighting, in an undated recorded statement released on Thursday.
Meanwhile, The army and its allies have secured the Palmyra to Deir Ezzor road, a major supply route from government territory to the eastern city, defeating the strong attack of ISIS, Reuters said on Friday.
“The Syrian army and its allies completely secured the Deir Ezzor-Palmyra highway after foiling the intense attack,” the Hezbollah media unit said. “The highway has become passable for traffic in both directions to and from Deir Ezzor,” it added.
Islamic State had captured the town of al-Shoula, which sits on the highway, in its attack.
Helped by the Russian military and Iran-backed militias, the regime army’s advance to Deir al-Zor lifted a three-year-long siege imposed by Islamic State on a government-held enclave in the city. (With agencies)
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