Death of 20 Syrian Soldiers in ISIS Attack in Deir Ezzor

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced today, Friday, that an attack on a military bus in eastern Syria resulted in the death of 23 soldiers and injured more than 10. The observatory attributed the attack to the "ISIS" group, which operates dormant cells in territories it previously controlled. The Syrian military is in a state of alert in the Syrian desert, searching for those missing from the attack. Observatory Director Rami Abdel Rahman stated that attacks by dormant ISIS cells in Syria have become bolder and more brutal in recent months, particularly in the vast desert areas that they once controlled. For its part, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on two military buses in Deir Ezzor in a statement via its Telegram channel. The attack occurred near the town of Mayadeen in the vast desert province of Deir Ezzor, which is jointly controlled by Syrian forces backed by Iran and Russia, and fighters led by Kurds supported by the United States.