Syrian army and allies close in on Islamic State in Deir al-Zor

Syrian troops seized a suburb of the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Sunday, tightening the noose around Islamic State, a Syrian military source said.

The army pushed into the city this month with the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, breaking an Islamic State siege of an enclave there that had lasted three years.

On Sunday, the Syrian army and allied forces captured al-Jafra district on the western bank of the Euphrates river, the military source said.

“They have no outlet except crossing the Euphrates towards the eastern bank and fleeing towards the desert, or (the towns) al-Bukamal and al-Mayadin,” the source told Reuters.

Read the whole story from Reuters.

Featured image courtesy of AP