DAMASCUS, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) militants are losing ground on a daily basis in Syria, amid international expectations of a near defeat to the terror-designated group in Syria.
The IS militants are the target of the Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air force and Iranian-backed groups, on one hand, and the U.S.-led coalition with its Kurdish-led allies of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the other.
The Syrian army and the Iranian-backed forces have been making strides in the battle against IS in several areas.
The Syrian forces defeated IS in the barrens of Qara town in western Qalamoun region near Lebanon late last month, following a broad offensive it launched with Hezbollah.
The operation resulted in clearing the entire borderline between Syria and Lebanon from IS and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
The army on Friday drove out the IS militants from their key stronghold of Uqayribat in the eastern countryside of Hama province in central Syria.
The town was a main IS stronghold and a launching pad for the IS attacks against the army in Hama countryside.
The IS control over the town had also posed a threat to the road between Hama and the northern province of Aleppo.
Capturing Uqayribat is part of a wide-scale offensive the army and its allied forces have waged in Hama countryside against IS. The army laid a full siege on Uqayribat on Aug. 18, before storming it on Friday.
The army forces also captured four other towns in eastern Hama on Friday, further closing in on the IS positions in that area.
The battles in Hama are also part of a broader offensive against IS in the desert region in the eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria.
The army announced Friday it had reached the administrative border of Deir al-Zour province following battles with IS in eastern Homs.
The advance toward Deir al-Zour was made through the city of Sukhnah, which has been recently taken by the army, in the remote desert area of Sukhnah in the eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria.
The months-long Syrian army operations in the desert initially aimed at clearing the key desert area in Syria from IS and to reach the borders of Deir al-Zour, where large swathes of the territory are under the control of IS, and the small government-held part has been besieged by IS since 2015.
The desert battle also enabled the army to reach border points with Iraq and Jordan.
On the other hand, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian fighters led by the Kurdish YPG, is also advancing against IS in the northern city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS.
The SDF said it had controlled the old city of Raqqa, following the sweeping progress made against IS.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF were in control of 90 percent of the old quarter of Raqqa city, becoming close to the "secure zone" of IS, which "has reached the stage of collapse in Raqqa."
The London-based watchdog group said the IS militants have no place to treat their wounded militants, adding that the terror-designated group is killing its militants which suspect their cooperation with the SDF.
The Observatory said the advance of the Syrian army progress in Hama equals five times the size of Raqqa.
Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said in a recent interview that IS' remaining Syrian strongholds are likely to fall by the end of October.
"The Syrian government and the Russians are very likely between now and the end of this month or perhaps early October, latest, to actually liberate it," de Mistura said.
The United States and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces "will probably liberate Raqqa by the end of October," he said.
He said the end of the war on IS should be the start of peace in Syria.
