EXCLUSIVE: ISIS launches surprise attack on Syrian army at Deir ez-Zor

DEBKAfile was founded by a team of journalists in June 2000 as an independent Internet Web site, providing an intelligence and security news service. June 15, 2017, 7:52 PM (IDT)

DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that the Islamic State took advantage of the Syrian-Hizballah-Shiite militias’ preoccupation with seizing the Syrian-Iraqi border to launch a large-scale surprise attack Thursday on the big Syrian air base at Deir ez-Zor. This is the second ISIS attack on the eastern Syrian town in the last 48 hours. This time, the jihadists formed a wedge between the air base and the town and forced the Syrian defenders, the 137^th Brigade, to retreat.
 

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