Russia and the SAA fail to defeat the Islamic State in the East. Moscow strikes and army combings are not enough against the former ISIS. The jihadists counterattack and kill at least 20 enemies in a month in the desert

Continuous Russian air campaigns and periodic combings by the Syrian army (SAA) fail to defeat the Islamic State in the east of the country. In the last month, despite hundreds of strikes in Moscow and SAA operations, ex-ISIS jihadists have killed at least 20 allied soldiers and militiamen. They did so in the course of two attacks: the first, which took place in the desert of Deir Ezzor, saw an army general and members of his escort lose their lives following a remotely activated IED. In the second, however, 15 members of Usoud al-Sharqiyyah were killed in an ambush in al-Masrab. In both cases, it was IS’s response to the recent enemy offensive, in which it hoped to make a difference thanks to the acquisition of local sources, capable of revealing terrorist shelters. Unfortunately, it was not enough and the latter began to fight back more and more violently.