IS launches new deadly attack in eastern Syria amid fears of 'coronavirus insurgency'

IS launches new deadly attack in eastern Syria amid fears of 'coronavirus insurgency'
Islamic State militants have killed three people in an ambush in central Syria.
2 min read
19 May, 2020
Kurdish, regime and Turkish-backed rebels have retaken areas of Syria from IS [Getty]
Three Syrians have been killed in the east of the country after their vehicle was targeted by the Islamic State group, as fears grow that the coronavirus outbreak could aid the militants.

Two men and a woman were killed in an IS ambush in Deir az-Zour province on Sunday, which is the latest in a series of attacks by the militants.

One of the men killed was a member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) while another a member of a pro-regime militia, Zaman Al-Wasl reported.

IS sleeper cells have launched a number of attacks in areas re-taken by the US-backed SDF and Syrian regime in the east of the country in recent months.

There are fears that the coronavirus crisis and tensions between the SDF and Turkey - which controls parts of northern Syria - could aid the IS insurgency.

IS have also made a series of deadly raids on regime forces in central Syria in recent months, while there has also been a spike in activity by the militant group in Iraq.

Three suspected IS members also escaped the Al-Hol camp in Syria on the weekend, the latest jail break by militants.

IS detainees have rioted at detention centres in Syria since the outbreak of coronvirus.

IS militants took over much of Syria and Iraq in 2014, massacring thousands civilians and prisoners of war.

They controlled a swathe of territory equiveland to the size of the UK until a US-backed assault by the Iraqi military, SDF and other forces saw last IS outpost in eastern Syria fall last year.

Since then, sleeper cells have continued to attack SDF forces and civilians while IS militants have launched hit-and-run raids on Syrian regime forces in Homs province.

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