The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for an attack that targeted Qatirji oil tankers, during an ambush in the Hama desert at midnight on Monday.
On Tuesday, ISIS said through its Amaq News agency, that its fighters, “destroyed ten oil tankers and killed and wounded 10 militia members loyal to the Syrian army, in an ambush in the desert of Hama.”
According to ISIS’s statement, and as per Enab Baladi’s reporting, ISIS fighters ambushed a convoy of tankers transporting oil from the areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to the areas controlled by the Syrian regime forces, as well as the accompanying members of the Qatirji militia in the east Salamiyah city.
ISIS added that its fighters attacked the convoy with various weapons, and were able to destroy 10 tankers and, “kill seven militia members accompanying the convoy and wound three others, before withdrawing to their initial positions, unharmed.”
The tankers, belonging to the Syrian businessman Hussam al-Qatirji, transport oil from northeastern Syria to the Syrian regime.
Last Sunday, SANA reported that nine civilians were killed as a result of a terrorist attack on a bus near the Wadi al-Atheeb area in Salamiyah in the Hama countryside, and said that their bodies were transferred to the National Hospital of Salamiyah.
The Syrian News Channel quoted the Governor of Hama, Muhammad Tariq Kreshati, as saying that three vehicles were targeted.
Local networks, including the Homs al-Zahra network, published a video recording of the attack on the bus.
It is noticeable that the Islamic State has expanded deep into the areas under SDF control in northeastern Syria, with SDF leaders and members of the regime forces were targeted.
ISIS has also claimed responsibility for several operations in the northern countryside of Deir ez-Zor. ISIS’s operations had previously been concentrated in the eastern countryside of the governorate, which is connected to the Syrian desert.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
