Syrian Army Obstructs ISIL Reinforcements at Deir Ezzor

ISIL is currently involved in a number of offensives in northern Syria at the moment and due to these offensives, the terrorist group is in need of massive reinforcements to replenish their embattled fighters that are spread across the country.

Much of ISIL’s reserves are currently positioned in the eastern countryside of the Deir Ezzor Governorate, where they enjoy a border-crossing into the Al-Anbar Governorate (Iraq) and control over the large cities of Al-Mayadeen and AbuKamal.

One of ISIL’s largest offensives is currently taking place at the provincial capital of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, where they are currently battling the Syrian Armed Forces and the predominately Kurdish “People’s Protection Units” (YPG) for control of the southern and northern sectors of the city.

As a result of this large scale offensive at Al-Hasakah City, the Syrian Armed Forces inside the Deir Ezzor Governorate have been tasked with the objective to obstruct the ISIS reinforcements from utilizing the Al-Mayadeen-Deir Ezzor Highway in order to reach their primary supply route to Al-Shadadi on the Deir Ezzor-Al-Qamishli Highway.

The Syrian Arab Army’s 137th Brigade of the 17th Reserve Division did just that on Monday, as the latter targeted multiple ISIS convoys that were seen making their way north towards the provincial capital of Al-Hasakah.

Clashes first erupted on Monday morning between ISIL militants and the SAA’s 137th Brigade at the Al-Haweeqa District in northern Deir Ezzor, resulting in the death of five enemy combatants from the terrorist group; this included their Moroccan leader “Mohammad Abu Bar’aa” and his identified fighters: Assaf Mahmoud Al-Warid, Taha Tameem Al-Ahmad, Khareef ‘Umran, and Mustafa ‘Abdel-Rahman (Egyptian).

A source in Deir Ezzor added that more than 20 ISIL combatants were wounded during the clashes and two armored vehicles mounted with 23mm anti-aircraft machine guns were destroyed by the Syrian Armed Forces in Al-Haweeqa.

The SAA’s biggest attack on Monday took place at the Al-Rashidiyah District, where the 137th Brigade – in coordination with the 113th Brigade – destroyed a large ISIL command-and-control center, killing 9 enemy combatants and wounding 8 others from the terrorist group in the process.

Among the identified dead ISILcombatants at the Al-Rashidiyah District were Sufyan Abu ‘Ammar (Iraqi) and Jamal Khodor.

The Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) did not sit idly in Deir Ezzor: the air force targeted a number of ISIS convoys on the Deir Ezzor-Al-Qamishli Highway, killing scores of enemy combatants, including a pair of the terrorist group’s field commanders: Saleh Khalef Al-Ghaleb and Bassam Abu ‘Azzam Gharbiyah (the assistant to the ISIS leader “Abu Usama Al-Iraqi).