Syrian soldiers killed in deadly Islamic State ambush in Deir Ezzor
The Syrian army loyal to Bashar al-Assad has struggled to control the country's eastern desert.
Syrian state-run media said five soldiers were killed in an Islamic State missile attack on a transport convoy in the country’s eastern desert on Sunday evening.
Twenty others were wounded, state-run SANA news agency reported. The outlet operates under the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The attack occurred in the Badia desert between Palmyra and Deir Ezzor, according to SANA. The remote area remains a hotbed of IS insurgent activity even after nearly all of the country was recaptured from the jihadist group by the Syrian regime and Kurdish forces two years ago.
Two years ago, a Russian major general was killed in a roadside bomb attack in the desert outside Deir Ezzor city. Russia militarily backs the Assad regime.
