Illustrative image, by the SANA
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched a military operation against ISIS cells around the 55km de-escalation zone, which surrounds the US-led coalition base in the border town of al-Tanaf, the Syrian pro-government al-Masdar News blog reported on December 9.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed that heavy clashes broke out between SAA and ISIS fighters around the de-escalation zone. According to the pro-opposition monitoring group, the army artillery and warplanes stuck several positions of the terrorist group in the deserts of Homs and Damascus.
Earlier this week, Russian Special Operations Forces and the SAA ambushed a group of ISIS fighters north of the de-escalation zone. Pro-government sources said that 23 terrorists were killed in the attack.
Hundreds of ISIS fighters and commanders, including foreigners, are believed to be hiding in the deserts of Homs and Damascus. Most of these fighters are highly-experienced and well-armed.
It is not clear yet if the ongoing attack on ISIS positions around the de-escalation zone is a part of a long-awaited operation to neutralize all the remaining terrorists in the deserts of Homs and Damascus. The SAA began preparing for such an operation after liberating the area of al-Safa last month.
