 On 2 May 2013 the Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge, built during the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon period (1920−1941), was destroyed by shelling from the Free Syrian Army.That left the Siyasiyeh Bridge as the only connection across the Euphrates to the western section of Deir ez-Zor and the province of Hasakah, until its destruction in 2014.On 6 May, the Free Syrian Army shot down a SAA helicopter and killed eight government soldiers near Deir ez-Zor military airport.