Following a three-day assault, ISIS has moved into government-held territory in the east of Syria. The Islamist extremist group has been targeting the city of Deir al-Zor in an assault that began on recent days. Reports suggest that 300 people have been killed and ISIS has claimed that it has kidnapped a further 400. Reports conflict over whether ISIS has or not been successful in its offensive. Deir al-Zor is strategically significant for the group. It is the main city in the province with the same name, which in turn links up with ISIS’s self-proclaimed capital in Raqqa. This in turn links with territory that the group holds in Iraq, giving it a swathe of land under its control. ISIS has laid siege to the area since March 2015, and has in 16 January been battling government forces for control of the towns of Ayyash and Begayliya. The UN has warned of food shortages for the residents of Deir al-Zor, with both the Syrian government and Russia dropping basic commodities and aid into the city in recent weeks.
Following a three-day assault, ISIS has moved into government-held territory in the east of Syria. The Islamist extremist group has been targeting the city of Deir al-Zor in an assault that began on 16 January. Reports suggest that 300 people have been killed and ISIS has claimed that it has kidnapped a further 400. Reports conflict over whether ISIS has or not been successful in its offensive. Deir al-Zor is strategically significant for the group. It is the main city in the province with the same name, which in turn links up with ISIS’s self-proclaimed capital in Raqqa. This in turn links with territory that the group holds in Iraq, giving it a swathe of land under its control. ISIS has laid siege to the area since March 2015, and has in recent days been battling government forces for control of the towns of Ayyash and Begayliya. The UN has warned of food shortages for the residents of Deir al-Zor, with both the Syrian government and Russia dropping basic commodities and aid into the city in recent weeks.