Syrian civilians take up arms against ISIS in rural Deir Ezzor

Residents in the town of Al-Shamitiyah clashed with ISIS militants after being fed up with the self-proclaimed caliphate’s harsh religious rule, multiple credible sources reported.

The localized rebellion saw a small garrison of Islamic State fighters expelled from a couple neighborhoods but skirmishes were still reported in the town overnight.

Al-Shamitiyah is located in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor; therefore, the uprising could be related to the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) advances in the region although this is far from verified.

Virtually all of Deir Ezzor governorate, apart from the provincial capital, has been under Islamic State control since the group expelled rival groups from the Euphrates River region in 2014; however, this is likely to change in the coming months due to the SAA’s ongoing pincers.