For the third consecutive day, Russian warplanes have carried out air strikes on multiple locations in the Syrian desert, coinciding with ongoing combing operations by the Syrian government forces and their allied militias in the areas of Tanf, Palmyra, and Al-Sukhnah in the eastern countryside of Homs, as well as various regions in the Deir ez-Zor desert and Al-Raqqah's southern countryside. The Syrian army is working to cut off routes and passages and destroy caves and shelters believed to be used by ISIS elements for hiding and launching attacks against regime forces.
The Syrian Observatory reported today, Tuesday, that intense clashes erupted between the Syrian regime forces, including the Russia-backed 25th Special Tasks Division, and elements of the Islamic State organization in the Al-Amour Mountains west of Palmyra in Homs countryside. The regime forces used rocket launchers and heavy artillery, amid the presence of Russian reconnaissance aircraft in the area.
The clashes coincided with intensive airstrikes by the Russian air force targeting the positions of Islamic State cells in the Homs desert. There were reports of a Syrian army convoy caught in an ambush and minefield, resulting in the destruction of numerous tanks, followed by a large-scale attack by ISIS on positions of the 4th Division, with reports of a significant number of casualties and injuries.
ISIS elements are highly active in the Syrian desert, exploiting its terrain and operating from deep within, making them difficult to apprehend.
