Scores Killed as ISIS Briefly Captures Hospital in Syria’s Deir Ezzor

Several Medical Staff Captured in Contested City

A Saturday morning offensive by ISIS troops left the group in control of an important hospital in the contested eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, an offensive which left at least 35 Syrian troops killed. ISIS forces also captured a number of medical personnel.

The military has reportedly recovered the hospital since then, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting another 24 ISIS fighters killed in the counter-offensive at Assad Hospital. It does not appear that the hostage medical workers were recovered.

The hospital itself does not appear to have been the primary point of the ISIS push, which also saw them take a police checkpoint, a fire station, and some university dorms. The site is on the main supply route between the Syrian Army base in the city and the airport.

Deir Ezzor has been contested for years, with ISIS holding much of the city but never quite able to expel the military from its remaining bases there. As one of the few eastern cities in Syria with significant military presence, it is seen as a key staging area for government forces against ISIS.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.