The Syrian regime and its allies launched on Tuesday a military operation to retake ISIS-held regions west of the Euphrates River days after seizing control of the city of Albu Kamal near the Syrian-Iraqi border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the regime is trying to impose its complete control over the city with the support of Lebanon’s “Hezbollah”, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Afghan Fatimid Brigade and Iraq’s al-Najba and Hezbollah parties.
The regime was able to make fast advances due to the weakening of ISIS’ combat power. The regime focused its attacks on the towns of al-Salehiya and al-Kamsha and the regions in between them.
Some eight towns are still under ISIS control in the region west of the Euphrates.
The regime and their allies were able to make their fast advance due to the air cover provided by Syrian and Russian fighter jets.
The Observatory said that the battle to seize Albu Kamal left 235 regime forces, allies and ISIS members dead in the five-day struggle for the city, making it one of the fiercest fights in the Deir al-Zour province.
The regime and its allies lost some 109 members, 44 of them Syrian and 15 from “Hezbollah”. The rest are casualties from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, Iranian Revolutionary Guards and other Iraqi factions. Senior Guards members were also killed in the battle.
No less than 95 ISIS terrorists were killed in the fight in Albu Kamal and its surroundings.
