An army field commander told SANA news agency that the military operation was carried out after combing al-Badiya near the Deir Ez-Zur-Palmyra highway with the military observing the movements of remnants of already defeated terrorist groups between Shula and Kabajab areas.

He added that the army targeted the terrorists and killed five of them and destroyed their four–wheel pickup equipped with heavy machine guns.

Over the past month, more than 50 civilians and military personnel of the Syrian Arab Army have been killed or wounded in sporadic terrorist attacks against the buses that were carrying theme on the road connecting Palmyra and Deir Ez-Zur.