The Islamic State group has taken credit for a devastating ambush in eastern Syria that resulted in the deaths of a minimum of 20 government soldiers and left others injured, all the while issuing a cautionary statement that such assaults will persist.
Despite their defeat in Syria back in 2019, IS sleeper cells continue to execute lethal attacks. The organization previously held sway over significant portions of Syria and Iraq, proclaiming a caliphate in 2014.
In a statement issued on Friday night, IS fighters detailed how they executed an ambush on two army trucks in the Deir el-Zour province using an array of weaponry. According to IS, this attack resulted in the deaths of 40 members of the Syrian military and caused injuries to 10 others.
Opposition activists in Syria recounted that the assault transpired on Thursday night, targeting a bus carrying soldiers near the town of Mayadeen, and resulted in the demise of no fewer than 20 soldiers, with additional casualties. State media acknowledged several fatalities and injuries among the soldiers, although it refrained from providing a precise breakdown.
Just last week, IS confirmed the demise of their relatively obscure leader in Syria, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi. He had overseen the extremist organization since November and was succeeded by a newly appointed leader. This marked the fourth time a leader had been killed following the death of the group’s founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was eliminated by U.S. forces in northwest Syria in 2019.
