Syrian army, allies break Daesh siege

beirut — Syrian government forces on Tuesday reached troops besieged for years by Daesh in the eastern city of Deir Al Zor, the militants’ last major stronghold in Syria, the army said.

Tanks and troops pressed quickly towards a government-held enclave in the city, where daesh has trapped thousands of civilians and Syrian soldiers since 2014. The advance has opened a land route linking that territory to the outside.

The advance into strategic prize Deir Al Zor, a city on the Euphrates river and once the centre of Syria’s oil industry, is a significant victory for President Bashar Al Assad against Daesh and another stinging blow to the group. The group is being

Our armed forces and allies, with support from syrian and russian jets, achieved the second phase of their operations in the syrian desert Syrian military

fought in Syria by government forces, backed by allies Iran and Russia, and separately by a US-led alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters. In Iraq, the militants were driven out of their Mosul stronghold earlier this year.

Daesh still holds half of Deir Al Zor city and much of the province, however, as well as parts of its former stronghold Raqqa to the northwest, where the US-backed offensive is being fought.

“Our armed forces and allies, with support from Syrian and Russian warplanes, achieved the second phase of their operations in the Syrian desert,” Syria’s military said. “They have managed to break the siege.” State media and a war monitoring group said advancing forces had linked up with the besieged troops at a garrison on the western edge of the city.

Footage on Syrian state TV showed soldiers cheering near the garrison. State media said residents in government-held parts of the city were celebrating the advance. —