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On August 18, ISIS cells resurfaced in the Homs desert and launched an attack on positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the area of al-Bardah in the nearby Damascus desert, according to the Syrian al-Masdar News blog. The Syrian pro-government blog said that ISIS fighters managed to storm several positions following heavy clashes with the SAA.
A source in the SAA confirmed to al-Masdar News that the SAA repelled the attack and forced ISIS fighters to retreat back to their hideouts in the Homs desert within few hours.
Syrian pro-government activists believe that more than 1,000 fighters and commander of ISIS are currently hiding in the Homs desert, which lay between the eastern Homs countryside and the western Deir Ezzor countryside.
ISIS attack was clearly aimed at supporting the besieged terrorists in the area of al-Safa, which is also located in the Damascus desert. The remaining fighters of ISIS in the Homs desert will likely step up their operations against the SAA, as it advances deeper in al-Safa.
