ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

On April 4, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) secured several areas between the towns of Sabikhan and al-Salihiyah in the southern Deir Ezzor countryside from ISIS cells, according to the pro-government blog al-Masdar News. The media department of the SAA said that loads of weapons and ammunition including ATGMs, air-to-air missiles and IEDs were found by the SAA during a search and demining operation around the town of Sabikhan. On April 3, the SAA and the NDF launched a security operation  to eliminate the remaining ISIS cells in the southern Deir Ezzor countryside. So far, the SAA has secured more than 600 square kilometers, according to Syrian pro-government sources. From its side, the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq reported that ISIS fighters had targeted five positions of the SAA around al-Ghbrah in the southeastern Deir Ezzor countryside with SPG-9 recoilless rifles . Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image

A screenshot from the video Following a series of reports on alleged fresh US casualties in Syria on April 2 and April 3 , rumors and speculations over the situation in the US-occupied part of Syria have developed further. On April 4, Telegram channel WarGonzo (one of the key sources of the rumors) claimed that 6 more US service members had been killed and 2 others injured in an IED blast on the road between Al-Shaddadah and Hasakah. The blast allegedly destroyed one armoured vehicle belonging to the US-led coalition. The IED had been allegedly planted by mysterious “local partisans” allegedly belonging to the group named “Popular Resistance In Eastern Region” [or “National Resistance Forces”]. Once again, no photos or videos confirming these claims were provided. The US-led coalition has not revealed any casualties. Meanwhile, videos showing alleged members of “Popular Resistance In Eastern Region” have appeared online. In the first video, Popular Resistance In Eastern R