Major ISIS raid in Syria kills dozens, including Russians.

A Russian soldier in Syria. AFP. 

A major ISIS raid in Syria's Dier Ez Zor province has killed twenty-six Syrian troops and nine Russians. AFP. The attack occurred in Mayadeen and shows that ISIS is still active in the area. Of the nine Russians killed in the attack, only four have been confirmed to Russian soldiers, with the rest likely being mercenaries. Two of the Russians were killed at the scene of the battle with two more dying at the hospital. Forty-three ISIS fighters were killed in the attack. 

My Comment:

A fairly significant attack in Eastern Syria. It just goes to show that though ISIS has lost most of their territory in Syria, they are still a major threat. Dier Ez Zor province is one of the last remaining hot spots and this attack shows why. It's one of the last places ISIS holds land and it's where the majority of their core supporters are now, with the last holdouts in Damascus being defeated. 

If the casualty figures are accurate it wasn't that great of a showing for the Syrian regime and their Russian allies. They lost 35 troops compared to 43 ISIS fighters killed. In terms of body count that's a victory, but a pyrrhic one. The Syrian government can afford those kinds of losses more than ISIS can but it is still a bad showing for a battle hardened military like Syria. And though they have larger reserves than ISIS, their military has been bleed dry after years of fighting. They can't afford these kind of casualties either. 

The Russian casualties are important as well. Russia's intervention in Syria is not that popular at home and losing even more troops will not be popular for them. Losing them in a battle that can't really be called a victory with so many casualties is not a good sign. 

I have always wondered how the Russian people feel about losing mercenaries in Syria and elsewhere. These men aren't officially part of the Russian military, but they are still Russians and they are dying in large numbers. These five men are just a drop in the bucket to the number lost in other battles but I have to wonder if the Russians care. On the one hand they aren't military and knew what they were getting into by going to Syria. On the other, they are Russian citizens. 

As for ISIS, I can't really call this a victory for them either. Though they managed to kill a large number of fighters, they haven't taken any territory and can not afford to lose so many troops. They are extremely low on fighters and are cut off from foreign reinforcements. They really can't keeping these kinds of casualties and continue to fight. Doing so will just end the war quicker, which is a good thing anyways. 

I do have to say that I have thought for awhile that this was the way the war was going to go at this point. Instead of taking and holding territory, ISIS will conduct raids and terror attacks. They don't have the troops to do much of anything else. Expect more of these kinds of battles in the future.