Illustrative image.
On September 1, ISIS announced that its cells had ambushed a vehicle of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the southern countryside of Syria’s Raqqa.
The ambush took place on a road to the west of Tabqah Air Base a day earlier. According to ISIS official news agency, Amaq, two service members of the SAA were killed and two others were wounded as a result of the ambush.
ISIS cells have been very active all over Raqqa. In the last few weeks, the terrorists stepped up their attacks on SAA troops in the governorate.
On August 7, the terrorists ambushed an SAA vehicle to the west of Tabqah Air Base. Back then, Amaq said that four service members were killed. Later on August 26, the terrorists targeted another vehicle of the army with an improvised explosive device near the town of Ain Issa in the northern Raqqa countryside, killing a service member and wounding another.
Between June and August, the SAA and its allies, first and foremost the Russian Aerospace Forces, conducted extensive operations against ISIS cells in Raqqa. The group sustained heavy losses as a result of these operations, with more than 20 of its terrorists killed in a single confrontation.
These efforts were not however enough to end ISIS presence in Raqqa, which is divided between the SAA and the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The terrorist group’s cells are apparently taking advantage of this division to stay active in the governorate, hiding on one side when there is pressure on the other.
- Syrian Foreign Minister Says Israel Is ‘Playing With Fire’ After Attacks On Aleppo, Damascus
- Israel Strikes Syria’s Damascus Hour After Attack On Aleppo (Video)
