Deir ez-Zor: Syrian Army Takes Aim at Daesh's Last Stronghold in Country

KUBINKA (Moscow Region), (Sputnik) – The Deir ez-Zor area remains the last stronghold of Daesh armed units in Syria, with militants accumulating their forces there, Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, the chief of the Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate, said during a round table discussion at the ARMY-2017 forum.

"The lifting of siege of this city will allow us to completely defeat the most combat-effective formations of the Daesh terror group in Syria," Rudskoy said.

Rudskoy added that the terrorists from the city of Raqqa and Iraq’s Mosul have been transferred to Deir ez-Zor.

The Syrian army and self-defense units supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces have significantly advanced toward Deir ez-Zor from three directions, the military official pointed out. Also, a major group of Daesh terrorists has been surrounded in the town of Uqayribat. The town of As Sukhnah, located to the east of Palmyra, has been also liberated from Daesh militants due to Russian airstrikes and an offensive by Syrian forces, Rudskoy added.

The civil war between the Syrian government forces and various opposition and terror groups has been raging in the country since 2011. Russia has been supporting the forces of Syria's President Bashar Assad in their fight against terrorism. Also, Russia, alongside Turkey and Iran, is a guarantor of the Syrian ceasefire regime.