Media sources from Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria told Al-Monitor that government forces instructed members in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa to mobilize ahead of a major military operation in the Badia region of the Syrian desert. The operation will comb the Deir ez-Zor-Homs-Raqqa-Hama countryside at the behest of Russia, according to the sources.
The sources also revealed high-level coordination between Russia and Iran in the Deir ez-Zor area regarding this operation, especially in the western Deir ez-Zor countryside.
