The latest dispatches speak of a counter-insurgent ISIS in Hama's bag, where the militiamen of the caliphate now surrounded, also use women and children for suicide attacks against Syrian forces. The toughest confrontations concern the city of Uqayrbat, the last Islamic stronghold in Central Syria that is likely to fall in the next few hours.
The decisive front, however, remains the area of Deir Ezzor, with the Syrians less than 50 km from the Euphrates and from the much desired capital besieged by the hordes of the Islamic State. Between the city of Al Sukhna and Deir Ezzor continue to plunder troops in view of what is expected to be the decisive battle for the outcome of the war: with the Iraqis continuing to liberate the areas west of Mosul close to the Syrian border, the governorate of Deir Ezzor is in fact the last strip of organized and structured territory which in its time was self-defined as the Islamic State.
As Damascus closes the fronts in the central part of the country, fresh and paramilitary troops are sent to the east, leaving to the territorial departments (especially the National Defense Forces) the "cleaning" and the securing of the liberated areas. As it is easy to foresee, it is not to be expected too clemency to neutralize the last Islamic pockets. Increasing the level of violence is the incredibly tenacious resistance of the Caliphate militias and anger deeply rooted in the population for six years of unspeakable atrocities.
Regarding this theme, the role of local militias alongside the regular Syrian departments must be explicitly mentioned. The General Staff of Damascus entrusts to the tribal clans located to the east a considerable part of the war effort, exploiting the knowledge of the territory and above all the desire to redeem the indigenous peoples. It should be mentioned the Shaitat community, which in the summer of 2014 suffered one of the greatest massacres of the conflict, which was tracked by Western media: between 700 and 900 civilians were beheaded or crucified by terrorists. Local sources announce that when the time comes, Shaitat's revenge against ISIS militiamen will be terrible. 
The violence and atrocities committed in the Syrian conflict are already part of the postwar counts, which in some ways have already begun. For now, the international community has moved mainly to identify loyalist responsibilities. It is curious to note, for example, that the European Union has for the moment only taken legal measures against Syrian generals for alleged violence committed at the beginning of the war. With the predictable showdown in the coming months against the ISIS militiamen, further steps against Damascus cannot be ruled out.
Meanwhile the war continues.
In the abovementioned offensive toward Deir Ezzor, a decisive role is played by the Russian air forces, arrive at about 30.000 missions for 90.000 attacks against the aims of the Islamic State in two years of war. During these hours, Moscow airplanes continue to grumble over the infrastructure and convoys of Calif. Supplies, making tabula rasa in view of the arrival of Syrian forces.
At 48 alone, the Sukhoi 34 and 35 engaged on the eastern front would have destroyed 20 tankers of oil, vital to the survival of Caliphate. The battle, however, is still long, essentially for the supply channels that from the south (Anbar governorate in Iraq and the Jordanian border) continue to reach the Islamic State. Just from the Siro-Jordan frontier slate not yet controlled by the loyalists (the well-known area of Al Tanf), we talk about the fruitful sale of weapons to the Caliphate by militia linked to the galaxy Free Syrian Army. The news is not surprising, but it confirms that the future of Syria and the geopolitical balance that will emerge will continue to be of interest to many.
(photo: SAA)
