With mostly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) units continuing to advance on Deir ez-Zor, Ahmed Ebu Hewla, commander of Deir ez-Zor's SDF-controlled Military Council, said in an interview with Sputnik Turkey that their forces are poised to enter the city and start fighting Daesh (ISIS) at any moment.
"We recaptured a number of suburban areas of Deir ez-Zor from the Daesh terrorist group. Right now, the SDF units are based on the city's outskirts so we can enter Der ez-Zor at any time," he said.
He referred to "fierce fighting between the SDF and Daesh during which at least 70 terrorists were destroyed."
Hewla said that the SDF prevents Daesh from launching bomb attacks and that as a result of a military operation, the SDF "managed to save about 3,000 Deir ez-Zor civilians" who left the city and were deployed to safe havens where they were provided with basic necessities.
"Coalition aircraft support us from the air as the Syrian Army attacks Daesh positions from the opposite flank," he concluded.
Last Monday, SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Sputnik that SDF units, manned mainly by Kurdish militias, promised not to attack the Syrian government forces in Deir ez-Zor.
Earlier it was reported that the Syrian army, with Russian air support, has managed to finally break Daesh siege's of Deir ez-Zor.
The operation to break the siege of the city, which lies 140 km south east of Raqqa, began after four months of planning and preparation in the wake of the completion of the operation to liberate east Aleppo in January.
