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ISIS attacks Syrian airbase in Deir ez-Zor
[ARA News] Deir Ezzor – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Friday launched an offensive on a regime-held military airbase in eastern Syria, and destroyed at least two warplanes.“ISIS militants bombarded the Deir ez-Zor Military Airport with dozens of mortar shells and at least two guided-missiles in the evening on Friday,” media activist Samer al-Khalaf told ARA News. The bombardment caused the destruction of two Syrian warplanes and killed scores of soldiers, according to informed military sources. This comes just one day after ISIS fighters hit Syrian Army bases in Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The group started on Thursday a major offensive against Syrian regime forces in the governorate. ISIS militants initiated the offensive by targeting headquarters of the Syrian regime’s army forces in the Bagheliya town with heavy artillery and mortar shells. The group also attacked the 137th Regiment of the Syrian Army in western Deir ez-Zor with two car bomb attacks, followed by fierce mortar shelling. Dozens of casualties were reported among the Syrian forces. Most of the city of Deir ez-Zor and its countryside is under ISIS control. However, pro-regime army troops still hold control of several neighborhoods in the city beside a military airport in Deir ez-Zor suburb. The province of Deir ez-Zor is deemed strategic for ISIS for it links the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa with Iraqi territory controlled by the radical group. Posted by: badanov 2017-01-07 |
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