Iran-backed militias continue to arrest local fighters who refuse to participate in combing operations in the Deir Ezzor countryside desert.
The militias arrested at least 28 Syrian members amid reports of apprehending others who refused to comb the al-Bokamal desert down to al-Salihiyah and al-Suwayyah.
The sources of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) indicated that ISIS escalated its raids in the desert this month, documenting 11 attacks in 20 days, between June 2 and June 22.
The terrorists killed 42 regime soldiers and militiamen and injured 31 others. A civilian was also killed in the attacks, with 14 others sustaining various injuries.
On Saturday, the Observatory reported that regime forces backed by Palestinian “Liwaa al-Quds” militiamen and other militias combed areas in Jabal al-Bishri in southeastern Raqqa, searching for ISIS hideouts.
Moreover, regime forces and their backed militias supported by helicopters raided abandoned houses used by cattle herders in the area. It coincided with Russian and regime warplanes flying over the Syrian desert to monitor and target the movements of ISIS cells hidden in separate regions of the desert
