Illustrative image
On August 28, ISIS fighters attacked several positions of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the al-Azraq oil field in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The UK-based monitoring group said that the SDF managed to repel the attack only after the intervention of US-led coalition warplanes, which targeted ISIS fighters around the oil field.
The attack was likely launched from the remaining positions of the terrorist group on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. More than 1,000 fighters and commanders of ISIS are believed to be hiding there.
Earlier this month, more than 20 ISIS fighters attacked positions of the US-led coalition and the SDF in the Omar oil fields in the southeastern Deir Ezzor countryside. Back then, coalition warplanes and attack helicopters killed most of the attackers.
The SDF is currently preparing to launch a large-scale military operation to clear ISIS pocket on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, according to several sources. The US-backed operation will likely be kicked off in the upcoming few weeks.
