ISIS attack in Deir ez-Zur: SOHR reports 84 casualties, including truffle hunters and National Defense Forces

Shafaq News/ The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported Wednesday that 84 people, including truffle hunters and National Defense Forces (pro-government forces), were killed, injured, or missing in an attack by ISIS elements in the southern desert of Deir ez-Zur.

SOHR said the attack in Deir ez-Zur resulted in the death of 18 individuals, including 4 National Defense Forces members, with 16 others injured and over 50 missing.

The incident occurred in the desert in the southern countryside of Deir ez-Zur, following a siege while the group was hunting truffles.

The London-based Observatory mentioned that the targeted individuals faced gunfire, leading to intense clashes between ISIS cells and National Defense Forces.

The confrontation resulted in the burning of 12 vehicles at the site, and security reinforcements were dispatched from the Al-Quds Brigade and the National Defense.

Since the beginning of 2024, the death toll in military operations in the Syrian desert, as documented by the Syrian Observatory, has reached 186. This includes 22 ISIS members, 132 of the Syrian forces and loyal factions, and 32 civilian deaths.

SOHR detailed the operations across various regions, with “24 in the Deir ez-Zur desert, leading to the death of 47 military personnel, 32 in the Homs desert, resulting in 50 military deaths, 6 in the Raqqa desert, causing 15 military deaths, 5 in the Hama desert resulting in 17 military deaths, and one in the Aleppo desert leading to the death of 3 Iran-affiliated factions.”