IS impersonates Russian soldiers, drives car bomb into Syrian military airport

An IS commander claimed that a recent car bomb attack on Deir ez-Zor airport caused heavy losses to the Syrian army.

IS car bombs confiscated in Syria. Illustration photo: Reuters

A group of eight Islamic State (IS) militants carried out a suicide car bomb attack on the Deir ez-Zor airbase in central Syria on November 12, South Front reported on November 18, citing a statement from a group leader.

According to the IS leader, after exchanging fire with Syrian soldiers guarding the outer perimeter, the rebels drove a car filled with bombs into the airport, completely destroying three fighter jets and two helicopters of the Syrian air force.

This name also confirmed that the attack killed 54 soldiers, 4 Syrian army officers and 5 Russian military advisers.

However, the Syrian Defense Ministry said only two soldiers were killed and two wounded in the car bomb attack. According to pro-Syrian government sources, the militants who drove the car bomb were Chechens and all eight IS fighters were wearing uniforms impersonating Russian soldiers.

Meanwhile, opposition activists in Syria on November 15 released unverified satellite images showing a total of four explosions occurring at two airport runways on November 12.

The Syrian civil war began in 2011 between the Syrian government forces, backed by Russia and Iran, and rebels backed by the West and the Arab bloc, as well as extremist Islamist groups such as IS. Russia began its military campaign against IS in the Middle Eastern country in late September 2015 at the request of President Bashar al-Assad.

With the support of the Russian air force, the Syrian army has recently continuously won important victories on the battlefield, pushing IS into a corner, forcing it to step up suicide bombings targeting government troops.

According to VNE