Developing: Syrian Army launches counter-operation against ISIS in Deir Ezzor after failed terrorist offensive

On Wednesday, ISIS took advantage of a sandstorm sweeping across the province of Deir Ezzor to launch an offensive against the Syrian Army at the government-controlled Euphrates city of Al-Mayadeen.

ISIS offensive was launched out of a vast area of yet-unsecured desert countryside – several thousand square kilometers in size – in western Deir Ezzor which has repeatedly proven to be a problematic insurgency zone for government forces.

The terrorist assault ultimately failed and now immediately following it the Syrian Army and allied paramilitary forces have embarked on a thorough sweeping operation west of Al-Mayadeen to clear the countryside area of ISIS positions and hideouts.

Syrian pro-government forces want to neutralize any terrorist infrastructures (and terrorist fighters) hidden near Al-Mayadeen to prevent any future operation by ISIS against the city.

Up from initial reports that ISIS only possessed several hundred terrorists in the western Deir Ezzor desert are now claims that close to 1,000 terrorists are possibly embedded throughout the area.