FILE IMAGE: Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev.
On July 2, a soldier of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) was killed and another was wounded by a blast in the southern Raqqa countryside.
The soldiers were reportedly conducting a patrol near al-Zamlah gas field when they were hit by the blast. The field is located some 25 kilometers to the southeast of the town of al-Resafa, one of the larger urban centers in Raqqa that remain under government control.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the blast was caused by an old landmine. However, this claim is yet to be verified.
This was not the first such incident near al-Zamlah. Last July, a similar blast killed two soldiers in the vicinity of the gas field.
ISIS cells, who maintain a strong presence near al-Resafa, might have been behind the recent deadly blasts near al-Zamlah.
The terrorist group has been attempting to expand its influence near key oil and gas fields in the central region for the last few years.
On July 31, the group’s cells ambushed an oil shipment of the government that was on its way from Raqqa to Hama. Six oil tankers were destroyed during the attack, which also claimed the lives of five soldiers and two civilian drivers.
This month, the terrorist group stepped up attacks in the central region. According to the SOHR, the group carried out seven attacks in the region over the last four weeks. The attacks claimed the lives of 20 Syrian service members and pro-government fighters, in addition to three civilians.
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