At least seven members of regime forces were killed Wednesday in an attack launched by Daesh militants in eastern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Since declaring the elimination of its caliphate in March 2019 and losing all its areas of control, Daesh retreated to the desert between the governorates of Homs (central) and Deir ez-Zor (east) at the border with Iraq, where its fighters are holed up in mountainous areas.

The observatory stated that, "Islamic State militants during the past hours launched a large-scale attack on the regime forces and groups loyal to them in the desert of Deir ez-Zor, up to the administrative border with the adjacent governorate of Raqqa."

Violent clashes took place between the two sides following the attack, which resulted in the killing of seven members of the regime forces and five fighters of the extremist organization.

With the increase in the organization's recent attacks against the regime forces, the desert has turned into a scene of clashes accompanied by Russian raids, in support of the government forces, and targeting the sites of the organization's fighters.

Since March 2019, the observatory has documented the killing of more than 1,500 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, as well as more than 970 members of the extremist organization as a result of attacks and battles in the desert.