(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Islamic State has inflicted heavy losses on the elite forces in eastern Deir Ezzor province, killing at least 250 troops and wounding 280 more in three weeks of clashes, sources told Zaman al-Wasl.
The Tiger Units, led by notorious general Suhail al-Hassan, Assad’s close aide, have been pressing to take Ala’shara town, last ISIS pockets near Deir Ezzor city where the ISIS fighters show fierce resistance.
More than 119,000 pro-regime forces have been killed, including 62,000 Syrian troops, tens of thousands of loyalist militiamen, and 1,556 fighters from Hezbollah, according to a new estimate by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Al-Hassan, who always followed scorched earth policy, still no able to make any advances in the 21 km2 territory between Ala’shara and al-Salihiya district.
Meanwhile, activists based in the border town of Albu Kamal have documented death of 103 civilians in seven days of heavy bombing even after the regime claims of taking the key town in eastern Deir Ezzor on November 19.
The regime army and its allies said ten days ago they had taken complete control over Albu Kamal, Islamic State’s last significant town in Syria.
The army had declared victory over Islamic State in Albu Kamal earlier this month but the jihadists then staged a counter-attack using sleeper cells hidden in the town.
Driving Islamic State from Albu Kamal means only a few villages along the Euphrates and patches of nearby desert, as well as isolated pockets in other parts of the country, remain in Syria of the caliphate it declared in 2014, Reuters reported.
Syria’s grinding war has killed over 340,000 people since it broke out in 2011, including more than 100,000 civilians, according to the Observatory.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.