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On April 19, ISIS fighters conducted a hit and run attack against three positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) southeast of the city of Palmyra in the province of Homs, according to the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq.
Amaq said that several soldiers of the SAA had been killed and injured in the attack. Amaq added that ISIS fighters had destroyed a 130mm artillery piece of the SAA and captured a vehicle armed with a 14.5mm gun.
This was the first attack by ISIS around Palmyra since May 2017, when the city was liberated from the terrorist organization by the SAA and its allies for the second time.
The ISIS attack was likely launched from the Homs desert that’s located between the eastern Homs countryside and the western Deir Ezzor countryside. More than 1,000 ISIS members [who withdrew from Deir Ezzor southeastern countryside in late 2017] are believed to be hiding there.
The SAA and its allies are planning to eliminate the ISIS pocket in the Homs desert soon, according to Syrian pro-movement sources. The Tiger Forces will likely be tasked with this operation as they finish their work with the militant-held pockets in western Syria.
