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Early on August 18, a joint patrol of the Syrian Arab Army and the Russian Military Police came under attack on Damascus-Daraa highway.
The patrol was reportedly targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) as it was passing next to the Khirbet Ghazaleh bridge on the strategic highway. The IED blast caused some material losses. However, there were no Syrian or Russian casualties.
The Syrian and Russian ministries of defense are yet to comment on the incident. Usually, the two sides report attacks that result in casualties only.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, so far. However, ISIS remains the top suspect. The terrorist group’s cells may have carried out the attack in response to two recent Syrian intelligence operations, which saw the elimination of their general leader in southern Syria, Abu Salem al-Iraqi, and their top military commander in the region, Abu Omar Al-Jababi.
It’s worth noting that ISIS cells in the countryside of Daraa targeted Russian patrols with IEDs on a number of occasions in the last few years.
The Russian Military Police is present in Daraa to monitor the implementation of the 2018 reconciliation agreement as well as to coordinated between former rebels and Syrian government forces. Their presence is welcomed by all sides in the governorate, aside from terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda-affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
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