17 Pro-Iran Militants Killed, Injured in ISIS Attack in Central Syria

Members of the Liwa Fatemiyoun during training in eastern Syria. (Euphrates Post file photo)
Members of the Liwa Fatemiyoun during training in eastern Syria. (Euphrates Post file photo)
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17 Pro-Iran Militants Killed, Injured in ISIS Attack in Central Syria

Members of the Liwa Fatemiyoun during training in eastern Syria. (Euphrates Post file photo)
Members of the Liwa Fatemiyoun during training in eastern Syria. (Euphrates Post file photo)

Seventeen members of the pro-Iran Liwa Fatemiyoun militia were killed and wounded in an attack carried out by the ISIS terrorist group in the Homs countryside in central Syria.

A source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the militants, who are affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, were killed in an ISIS ambush on Monday night.

The ambush targeted a Liwa Fatemiyoun military position in the Doubayat gas field area that is a stronghold of the militia.

Eight members of the militia were killed in the attack. Nine others were wounded and they were taken to a field hospital in Palmyra for treatment.

Groups affiliated with the IRGC in Palmyra attempted to dispatch military reinforcements to the site of the attack, but it was targeted by another ISIS ambush along the road connecting Plamyra to al-Sukhna region.

This forced Russian jets to intervene. They carried out over 20 strikes against ISIS in the area.

An opposition activist in the city of Salamiyah said ISIS has increased its activity in the Syrian desert in Hama, Homs and central parts of the country in recent weeks. It has staged surprise attacks against IRGC positions and regime convoys in the desert (Badia).

Vehicles transporting pro-Iran militants, of various nationalities, cross Salamiyah on a daily basis headed towards the Hama desert to reinforce positions there, he revealed.

Several pro-Iran militants have been killed in ISIS attacks in recent days in regions in eastern Hama. Convoys transporting regime fighters, including officers, have also been targeted by the extremists. Thirteen regime forces were killed and five others were captured in one attack.

The regime and pro-Iran militias, backed by Russian air cover, have launched a large-scale operation to crackdown on ISIS remnants in the Syrian Badia in Hama and Homs, extending to the southern and eastern parts of the Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces in the east.

Despite these efforts, the operation has not curbed ISIS’ renewed activity. The group has resorted to ambushes and surprise attacks. Over 115 regime loyalists, including Iranians and Afghan mercenaries, have been killed in ISIS attacks in recent months.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
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Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.