ALEPPO, Syria — The Syrian desert known as the Badia region has been recently witnessing violent battles between the Syrian government forces and Islamic State (IS) militants, while Russian warplanes are raiding the group’s hideouts and military vehicles in the main clash area of Jebel Bishri, which extends over large areas south of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces in the east of the country.

Jebel Bishri in the Badia region is the same area where the government forces lost dozens of their members in separate attacks carried out by IS fighters during the past few weeks. On June 21, IS attacked the government's military barracks in Jebel Bishri, south of Raqqa province, killing and wounding several soldiers. 

A day early, on June 20, the group launched one of the deadliest attacks against government forces in the area. Syria’s state news agency SANA quoted a military source as saying, “At around 6:30 this morning, a civilian passenger bus was subjected to a terrorist attack on the Raqqa-Homs road in al-Jira area, which led to the death of 11 soldiers and two civilians, while three soldiers were injured.”

IS claimed responsibility for the attack on the same day.