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Despite sustaining heavy losses in the last few months, ISIS cells in central Syria continue to launch attacks against Syrian government forces and civilians.
On May 20, the group’s terrorists raided a position of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in Durihim desert in the southern countryside of Aleppo.
According to ISIS news agency Amaq, heavy clashes broke out during the raid. The terrorists destroyed two artillery pieces before withdrawing. No Syrian service members were killed or injured.
Two days earlier, eight SAA soldiers and pro-government fighters were reportedly killed in an ambush by ISIS cells in Maskanah desert in southern Aleppo.
The operations of ISIS cells were not limited to Aleppo; the terrorists were also active in Raqqa, where at least two attacks were reported this week.
On May 22, ISIS terrorists attacked a convoy of tankers moving oil from northeastern Syria to government-held areas near al-Manakhir in southern Raqqa. Two tankers were damaged, per Amaq.
The same day, three pro-government fighters were reportedly killed in Ma’adan desert in southern Raqqa when they were struck by an improvised explosive device that had been planted by ISIS cells.
The recent attacks indicate that ISIS cells are still attempting to establish a foothold in the Hama-Aleppo-Raqqa triangle. The SAA and its allies, first and foremost the Russian Aerospace Forces, will likely move to secure the region very soon.
