Islamist militants have brought dozens of fighters from the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zour to Iraq to join them in their fight against security forces, Al Sumaria News reported activists as saying on Saturday.
Without specifying an exact figure, the Syrian activists said that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group brought dozens of Deir al-Zour residents “to participate in battles on different fronts including the Iraqi forces and the [Kurdish] Peshmerga."
The news come after the Pentagon said on Friday that ISIS militants are having to spend more effort defending key supply lines in Iraq due to U.S.-led air strikes and pressure from local forces.
ISIS’ supply routes into Iraq from neighboring Syria have become a central focus of combat, with Iraqi government and Kurdish forces -- along with coalition warplanes -- seeking to disrupt and cut off the militants' access to weapons and equipment, spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.