Shafaq News – Damascus

ISIS claimed responsibility on Monday for an attack targeting a crude oil tanker linked to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.

In a statement, ISIS said its fighters struck the tanker near the Azba oil field, damaging the vehicle and causing its cargo to spill, describing the attack as part of what it calls an “economic war” against SDF resources.

The SDF has not commented on the incident.

On November 22, ISIS targeted an oil tanker in the town of Dhiban using automatic weapons.

The group said in its November 27 Al-Naba publication that it carried out three operations in Deir ez-Zor in recent days, and claimed that, overall, its cells conducted 38 attacks across northeastern Syria over the past 70 days — 29 in Deir ez-Zor, five in Raqqa, and four in Al-Hasakah — leaving 53 SDF members killed or wounded, including two commanders, and damaging two vehicles.

Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday that its forces, operating as part of the US-led Global Coalition and in coordination with Syria’s Interior Ministry, carried out a series of strikes between November 24 and 27 against ISIS weapons-storage sites in southern Syria.

The northeast remains a critical zone for the Coalition, which continues to conduct patrols and targeted raids against ISIS cells. Coalition officials caution that persistent security gaps, compounded by tribal tensions and local instability in Deir ez-Zor, still provide the group with space to regroup and expand its operations.

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