Syrian Army retakes last major stronghold of Islamic State after campaign with allied forces
The Syrian Army has liberated the last major stronghold of the Islamic State terror group, taking the city of Deir ez-Zour after a lengthy campaign with allied forces.
The military said it now has full control of the eastern city, which is capital of a province with the same name and has been split between areas under control of Islamic State militants and the Syrian government for nearly three years.
The victory is symbolic as part of the effort to capture the last remaining IS strongholds and Syrian government forces and their pro-government allies are now pushing to take the rest of the province.
In a statement, the military said: “Army units, in co-operation with allied forces, liberated the city of Deir ez-Zour completely from the Daesh terrorist organisation.”
Army units are now removing booby traps and mines left behind by the extremist group in the city, it said.
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Footage posted on Syrian state news agency SANA’s website shows the last moments of the fighting between the Syrian army and Islamic State in Deir ez-Zour, including shelling by Syrian tanks and plumes of smoke rising over the areas of the city held by IS.
The victory marks the culmination of an offensive that began in September when the Syrian army backed by Russia and Iran and Kurdish-led Syrian forces backed by the United States first broke the siege of their part of the city.
