Click to see full-size map
On June 8, ISIS fighters launched a large scale attack on positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies around and inside the strategic city of al-Bukamal near the Syrian-Iraqi border, in the southern governorate of Deir Ezzor, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Reportedly, ISIS fighters targeted the SAA positions with more than one VIBED during the attack.
The France Press Agency (AFP) reported that ISIS fighters had managed to capture several parts of al-Bukamal as a result of the attack. However, these claims are yet to be confirmed.
According to the SOHR, ISIS killed 27 soldiers of the SAA and lost more than 16 of its fighters during the clashes around al-Bukamal.
A source in the SAA told SouthFront that the SAA and its allies repelled the ISIS attack and recaptured most of the positions, which had been lost earlier. Moreover, the source confirmed that ISIS had launched its attack from the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, which is supposedly monitored by the US-led coalitions and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
ISIS launched a similar attack from the eastern bank of the Euphrates River on Jun 3. Back then, the SAA also managed to repel the attack within hours after killing dozens of ISIS fighters.
Local observers believe that the US-led coalition and the SDF are facilitating these attacks in an attempt to push the remaining fighters of ISIS on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River towards the Homs desert, which is isolated from the coalition’s areas.
