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On November 3, 2024, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) "deci" Telegram channel shared a post originally published by another pro-ISIS Telegram channel the previous day, reporting that Russia has acknowledged the death of "Captain 1st rank" Stepan Vladimirovich Alektorsky, in an alleged attack carried out by Islamic State Syria Province (ISIS) operatives in the Deir Al-Zour governorate on October 12.[1]
Celebrating the "blessed ambush," the post said that two Russian officers were killed in the operation, and that two brigadier generals from the Syrian 25th Division special forces were also killed in the attack. The post added: "That leaves the third officer," hinting that another Russian captain was killed in the operation, but that the death hasn't been acknowledged yet.
Notably, ISIS has not yet claimed the October 12 attack.
Syrian Opposition Media
On October 13, the Syrian opposition-affiliated outlet Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that a Brigadier General and three soldiers were killed in an attack carried out by ISIS operatives against Syrian forces in the Kabajib desert in the Deir Al-Zour countryside. The report did not include any further details.[2]
On the following day, October 14, another report was released by SOHR, in which sources were quoted as saying that two Russian officers and three Syrian soldiers were killed, including two with the rank of "Brigadier General" and two others whose nationalities have not yet been determined. They were killed by artillery shelling by unknown parties on October 12, it claimed, which targeted the area between Khasham and Hatla in the countryside of Deir Al-Zour.[3]
During the Russian presence in areas controlled by Syrian forces and Iranian militias, the International Coalition forces intensified drone flights and ground shelling, focusing on the "Conoco" gas plant base in the northern countryside of Deir Al-Zour, according to the report.
Why Were The Russians There?
Sources further confirmed to the website that Russian officers were present at the location for the purpose of coordination, and "to take control and deploy [from] military headquarters after reducing the number of Iranian militias, for fear of being targeted by the International Coalition or Israel," the report concluded.
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