Syrian Army Wards Off ISIL Heavy Offensive Near Iraqi Borders

The army soldiers on Thursday engaged in fierce clashes with a large number of ISIL terrorists, including suicide bombers, who had attacked the army positions in al-Kataf region of Albu Kamal from Baqouz region.

Field sources said that heavy clashes erupted between the two sides in parts of al-Kornish region and farms near the Euphrates river, noting that a large number of militants were killed and wounded.

They added that the Syrian army troops repelled the terrorists' attacks after several hours of clashes, forcing other militants to flee.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned against the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria’s troubled Eastern province of Deir Ezzur, saying that ISIL Takfiri terrorists are putting local residents to death.

Speaking to a news conference in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday, Bachelet voiced deep concern for 7,000 civilians, whom she said had been caught between ISIL militants preventing them from evacuating Deir Ezzur, located 450 kilometers Northeast of the capital Damascus, and US-led coalition airstrikes.

“We also have reports of Daesh (ISIL) executing people perceived as cooperating with SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) or other parties to the conflict,” she added.

The high-ranking UN official went on to say that civilians in Deir Ezzur province are being used as “pawns and bargaining chips” in the conflict.

Message end/