The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the pro-Iran militiamen were targeted by a group of unidentified assailants, presumed to be ISIS members, while returning from a military base in al-Bukamal countryside’s Salihiya desert.
The wounded have been hospitalized and are receiving treatment, the monitor added. All five militants are Syrian nationals.
ISIS has increased its attacks in Syria in recent months, particularly in the vast expanses of desert where the group launches surprise attacks amid a security vacuum.
In May, five pro-Iran fighters were killed by an improvised explosive device (IED), blamed on ISIS.
ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called caliphate. While the group was declared territorially defeated in 2019, it continues to pose a serious security risk through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions.
Around 400 Syrian army soldiers and affiliated militia members have been killed in ISIS operations in the Syrian desert since the start of the year, including at least 35 pro-Iran fighters, according to SOHR.
