On September 19, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) backed by the Russian Aerospace Forces captured the area of Sarayim near Bi’r al Hajjah in the Homs desert, which lays between the eastern Homs countryside and the western Deir Ezzor countryside, according to Syrian pro-government sources.
Click to see full-size map
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the SAA killed nine ISIS fighters and captured six others during its advance in the desert. According to the UK-based monitoring group, heavy clashes are still ongoing in the region.
ISIS fighters remaining in the Homs desert launched a large counter-attack against the SAA and recaptured a wide area in the western part of the Homs desert three days ago. However, the SAA managed to repel the attack and restore control of the recently liberated areas.
The SAA is expected to step up its operations against the terrorist group in the upcoming few days. It should be noted that now the Syrian military can redeploy large units from the vicinity of the governorate of Idlib, which is under the new Russian-Turkish deconfliction agreement.
