Escalation of attacks by the Islamic State in the Syrian desert in the east. On April 16, pro-ISIS jihadists killed 43 people, including members of the SAA and civilians. The group tries to fall back to the West to escape Inherent Resolve and the SDF

43 people were killed by the Islamic State in the Syrian desert on April 16 in a series of raids between Hama and Deir Ezzor. Of these, about half were members of the Regular Army (SAA) and the rest were civilians. The pro-ISIS jihadists, pressed by Inherent Resolve and by the SDF further east, are trying to consolidate their area of influence in the quadrant and are looking for resources to survive. It is no coincidence that the escalation of attacks coincided with some targeted operations of the Coalition, which are decimating the group’s leadership and chain of command. In fact, the fundamentalists are repositioning themselves further west, exploiting the weaknesses of the SAA and of the allied militias, in the hope of reducing the risk of suffering strikes by multinational and Kurdish forces.