The Forgotten Front: Syrian Army Defends Deir Ezzor from Multiple ISIS Attacks
For the last two years, the provincial capital of the Deir Ezzor Governorate has been under a brutal siege that was imposed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), leaving over 100,000 civilians trapped between the intense firefights destroying this once prosperous city located along the vast Euphrates River of eastern Syria.
As of recently, the Syrian Arab Army’s 137th Artillery Brigade of the 17th Reserve Division – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Shaytat Tribesmen – lifted the six month long siege that was plaguing the 20,000 residents of the Al-Jourah District; this successful operation paved the way for medical aid and food to reach the beleaguered civilians.
On Monday morning, ISIS launched a powerful on the Al-Sina’a, Al-‘Amal, and Al-Rusafa Districts of Deir Ezzor City, firing numerous mortar shells and rockets toward the residential neighborhoods before they would storm the Syrian Armed Forces’ defensive positions along this volatile front in the southern part of the provincial capital.
In addition to their assault on the aforementioned districts in the provincial capital, the terrorist group has also increased the strikes on the Deir Ezzor Military Airport’s eastern perimeter, despite being repeatedly repelled by the SAA’s 137th and 104th (Republican Guard) Brigades.
Thus far, the terrorist group has been relatively unsuccessful in their recent military endeavor to take the contested industrial sector of Deir Ezzor City; however, ISIS is expected to increase the volatility of these strikes in the coming days, as the fighting intensifies at these fronts.
