IDLIB, Syria — The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a recent report that a military convoy affiliated with the Syrian government and allied Iranian militias were ambushed by the Islamic State (IS) on May 18 in the south of al-Mateyah village in the Maskanah desert, east of Aleppo. According to SOHR sources, five four-wheel-drive vehicles of the government’s 25th Division and Iranian militias were attacked while passing through the area. Clashes ensued between IS members and government-affiliated forces, which led to the killing of eight people, including a commander of the Iranian militias.
Between March 24, 2019, and May 18, the UK-based war monitor documented the killing of 1,430 government forces and Syrian and foreign fighters loyal to them, including two Russians at least.
On May 16, the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency published a statement, in which it noted that, during the month of Ramadan between April 13 and May 13, the organization carried out 79 attacks in Syria, during which 122 members of the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed and wounded.
According to the statement, half of the operations occurred in Deir ez-Zor, where IS carried out 40 operations, while 11 operations were carried out in Homs, 10 in Raqqa, nine in Daraa, six in Hasakah, two in Aleppo and one in Hama.
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