Syrian Army on the verge of breaking the siege of Dayr al-Zawr

After successfully retaking Aleppo, the main stronghold of the Syrian rebels last year, the Syrian Army is now continuously advancing toward one of the main cities under ISIS control, Dayr al-Zawr. Local sources say that the army is on the verge of breaking the siege of the city.

کد خبر: ۷۲۷۳۷۵

تاریخ: ۱۳ شهريور ۱۳۹۶ - ۲۰:۱۳

Tabnak - After successfully retaking Aleppo, the main stronghold of the Syrian rebels last year, the Syrian Army is now continuously advancing toward one of the main cities under ISIS control, Dayr al-Zawr. Local sources say that the army is on the verge of breaking the siege of the city.

The Syrian Army troops, backed by the Russian Air Force, continued to advance against ISIS in the Eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr in several flanks despite massive redeployment of ISIS’ fighters and military hardware from other parts of Iraq and Syria to Dayr al-Zawr, military sources confirmed on Monday.

The sources said that the army soldiers drove ISIS out of the towns of Kobajeb and al-Shoula and several strategic hills, pushing towards Brigade 137 base in the Western outskirt of Dayr al-Zawr city.

They added that the army men captured al-Kharateh energy field North of Tar Tarfawi region in the Western countryside of Dayr al-Zawr city, deploying less than 20km away from Tal (hill) al-Sonouf near the city airbase.

Meanwhile, the governor of Dayr al-Zawr said that the Syrian army will reach the city within the next 48 hours. "The heroes of the army will arrive at Dayr al-Zawr in 24-48 hours at the most," said Mohammed Ibrahim Samra on Sunday.

According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the army has reached the border of the besieged garrison’s camp on the western edge of the city.

It added that intense fighting has broken out between the ISIS terrorists and the newly-arrived forces who are trying to link up with their besieged allies in the eastern Syrian city, which has been held by the terrorists since 2014.

Earlier in the day, a high-ranking American military commander said the US-backed militia from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will take part in the operation to retake the troubled eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr from the terrorists.

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters via a video teleconference from Baghdad that the final battle against the terrorists would take place in the Middle Euphrates River Valley, including Dayr al-Zawr.

The US commander added that the idea to include the SDF in Dayr al-Zawr battle stemmed from territorial gains that the group had scored in the northern cities of Manbij, Tabqa and Raqqah.

It should be noted that in the past few months, ISIS has suffered multiple defeats across Syria, notably in the city of Raqqa, its de facto capital in the Arab country. It has also been heavily battered in neighboring Iraq, particularly by losing its main Iraqi base of Mosul in July.

Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant and terrorist groups since March 2011. The Damascus government has repeatedly blamed certain countries for the spread of the devastating militancy.