IS loses Syrian city, border crossing
Military advances deal blow to militants
BEIRUT — Islamic State militants lost their last foothold in a major city and a strategic border crossing on Friday, as the Syrian and Iraqi militaries made significant advances, squeezing the militant group into a shrinking patch of territory near the border.
Syrian government forces, supported by intense Russian airstrikes and Iranian-backed militias on the ground, drove the militants from the last few neighborhoods they controlled in the eastern provincial capital of Deir al-Zour, the Syrianarmy said.
Across the border, the Iraqi army and allied Iranianbacked militias seized control of a crucial border crossing after taking most of the town of Qaim, Iraq, from the Islamic State, according to the Iraqi militarychief of staff.
The military advances dealt a severe blow to the militant group, leaving it with fragments of its self-declared caliphate that once stretched from the center of Syria to the outskirts of Baghdad. They also provided yet another indication that President Bashar al-Assad’s fortunes have rebounded and that, with help from Russian and Iranian allies, the Syrian armycan take back territory.
The Islamic State now maintains just a few pockets of western Anbar Province in Iraq and somewhat larger patches in Syria, where it controls about a third of the desert province of Deir alZour, including a string of small towns and villages, and an oil field.
The developments also set the stage for a battle for the Syrian border town of Bukamal, on the strategic highway from Baghdad to Damascus, and what appears to be the end game for the remaining Islamic State territory in Iraq and Syria.
The seizing of Deir alZour punctuates the turnaround Mr. Assad has managed in more than six years of war. Just two years ago, the idea that the government would manage to take back the city seemed remote.
When the Syrian war broke out in 2011, soldiers were defecting from the Syrian army and only a fraction ofthe troops could be counted on for loyalty in the field. But Mr. Assad hit hard at rebelheld neighborhoods, pummeling Syrian cities with airstrikes with the support of Iran and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah.
In 2015, Russia entered the war on Mr. Assad’s behalf, carrying out airstrikes against the Islamic State and other insurgent factions. Russia’s backing allowed Mr. Assad’s forces to focus on one front at a time. Once the nonIslamic State insurgents were contained, the pro-government alliance turned its attention to the Islamic State, which it has now mostly routed.
Still, Mr. Assad is faced with running a country that remains divided, politically and territorially, where major cities are devastated, the security forces deeply dependent on Russia and Iran, and the economy gutted.