Syrian military vehicles take position on the outskirts of Deir al-Zour city in eastern Syria on Sept. 5, 2017. Following days of intense battles on the outskirts of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria, the Syrian forces and allied fighters broke Tuesday the three-year siege of the Islamic State (IS) to government-held parts in the city. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
DAMASCUS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) is rapidly losing ground in Syria's Deir al-Zour province, with the Russian-backed Syrian army and the U.S.-backed forces separately beating the terror-designated group.
On Saturday, the Syrian government forces backed by the Russians, Iranian-backed fighters, and the tribal forces, succeeded to break the IS siege on the key air base of Deir al-Zour, where Syrian soldiers and fighters of the Lebanese Hezbollah group have been besieged for three years.
The victory was achieved by the Syrian military units advancing from the western part of the city, more specifically from the Brigade 137.
Those units have spearheaded the attack on IS in Deir al-Zour earlier this week, when they advanced from the southern countryside of Raqqa province in northern Syria toward Deir al-Zour, breaking IS three-year siege on the Brigade 137 and thus lifting the siege of the capital city of Deir al-Zour, where 93,000 civilians have been besieged as well.
These units are the ones who advanced in the city and broke the IS siege on the air base and capturing areas surrounding it.
From the south, other military units have been advancing toward Deir al-Zour from the desert region of the remote eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria.
The second troops gutted IS-held areas in the desert one by one until finally reaching Deir al-Zour from its southern gate, capturing on Saturday the key energy field of Teym, which produces oil and gas.
Teym field produced gas and oil and is one of the most important energy fields in Syria as it supports the electricity production to most Syrian cities.
Meanwhile, a military source told Xinhua that the Syrian forces also captured surrounding areas near the oil field, proceeding toward the graveyard area where the first incursion team is advancing, coming from the Brigade 123.
With both forces advancing against IS in Deir al-Zour, the terror-designated group started losing key ground in the capital city of that oil-rich province.
Syria's Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the war on the terrorist group is nearing its end with IS losing ground in Deir al-Zour.
The state TV said celebrations broke out in Deir al-Zour with the army advancing and breaking the air base siege.
Breaking the siege of the airport will largely play into the hands of the Syrian government forces in their push to eliminate the IS presence in the city before proceeding to the countryside where IS also controls large swathes of areas near the Iraqi border.
When the base was besieged, the soldiers couldn't fly warplanes as IS would target them. Now, the base is expected to return to operation after the army has cleansed the vicinity of the airbase.
A military source told Xinhua that 90 percent of IS supply routes to the capital city of Deir al-Zour have been blocked.
He added that commanders of IS are fleeing their positions toward other areas in the countryside of Deir al-Zour.
Since entering the city, the Syrian government has sent several truckloads of food and medicine to the city.
The Russian air force played a significant role in supporting the ground forces of the Syrian army and allied fighters of Iranian-backed troops and tribesmen fighters.
In the northern countryside of Deir al-Zour, the U.S.-backed Deir al-Zour Military Council declared Saturday the commencement of a new battle against IS in northern and eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province and the southern countryside of Hasakah province in northeastern Syria.
The group said it captured the towns of Ruaishid and Zarab from IS in the northern countryside of Deir al-Zour on Saturday, as some activists said the presence of IS in the southern countryside of Hasakah, bordering the northern countryside of Deir al-Zour, has largely diminished under the strikes of the U.S.-backed forces.
The northern countryside of Deir al-Zour is seen by the U.S. as an area of influence as it's close to the northeastern province of Hasakah, a largely Kurdish-controlled territory.
The eastern province of Deir al-Zour is important to the U.S. because of its proximity to the Iraqi border, where the U.S. is trying to establish a foothold to quell the cross-border Iranian support to Syria and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
The government has yet to comment on the U.S.-led operation in Deir al-Zour, but it has repeatedly slammed the U.S. coalition as "illegitimate."
Deir al-Zour is the last major stronghold of IS, as the terror-designated group is also losing its de facto capital of Raqqa to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which has captured more than 60 percent of Raqqa.
