Syrians doubled turf, Russian says

BEIRUT — The Syrian government has increased the size of the territory under its control by 2½ times in just two months, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Sunday, as Syrian forces backed by regional allies and the Russian air force seized thousands of square miles from the Islamic State group in the center of the country.

Syrian government forces supported by Iranian-organized militias and the Russian air force have recaptured much of the country’s central Homs province from the Islamic State group in 2017. Most of the province is desert. It contains several energy fields as well as phosphate minerals.

They are driving toward the city of Deir el-Zour, kept under siege by Islamic State militants since 2015.

Shoigu, in an interview on Russian state-owned Rossiya 24 TV, said recapturing Deir el-Zour “will say a lot, if not everything, about the end of the battle with” the Islamic State group.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported Sunday that government forces killed at least 25 militants in a commando operation in the desert region. It said the soldiers rappelled down from helicopters to ambush the militants, under the cover of Russian air strikes. Russia has provided air support for Syrian forces combating rebels and the Islamic State group since 2015.