BEIRUT—The Syrian army broke Islamic State’s three-year siege of the eastern city of Deir Ezzour on Tuesday, state media said, laying the groundwork for a battle to retake the extremist group’s most important remaining stronghold and the lucrative oil fields it controls there.

The regime overcame fierce resistance by Islamic State to make the significant advance, opposition activists said. Syrian military units moved in from the western side of Deir Ezzour province and linked up with another brigade inside one of two... </s> Syrian troops are now at the gates of the Islamic State-besieged city of Deir ez-Zor, the governor of the province said, as the government forces continue to press forward, obliterating terrorist positions in the vicinity and on the outskirts of the city.

“The heroes of the army will arrive at Deir ez-Zor in 24-48 hours at the most,” the governor of Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, Mohammed Ibrahim Samra, told Reuters, adding that the Syrian Army was only 18-20 kilometers (11-12 miles) away from the city.

Earlier, an elite unit of the Syrian Army, called the Tiger Forces, came within 18 kilometers (11 miles) of the besieged city after destroying IS (Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist positions on the Bishri mountain chain, Al-Masdar News reported.

Despite massive redeployment of fighters and military hardware by the Islamic State terrorists from other parts of Iraq and Syria to Deir ez-Zor, the Syrian Army, with the help of the Russian Air Force, has been advancing toward the city on several fronts.

The key Euphrates city of Deir ez-Zor has been under terrorist siege for two and a half years, after being cut off from government-held areas in May 2015 during the jihadists’ offensive on Palmyra. The surrounded city, alongside a neighboring military base and airfield, have since been supplied with food and ammunition via airdrops by Russian and Syrian transport planes and helicopters.

On Sunday, the Syrian Army attacked IS barricades on the southwestern outskirts of the city, Sana news agency reported, killing several terrorists and seizing their weapons and ammunition.

“We carried out at dawn a successful raid against one of ISIS terrorists’ barricades in the direction of the Water Resources area through crawling and infiltrating it and throwing several bombs when we almost approached the area, killing all the terrorists at the site,” one of the soldiers told Sana.

The Syrian Army units have also expanded control in al-Badia, “eliminating the last gatherings of the organization in Hreibsha area that is located in the southwest of Deir Ezzor province.” According to Sana news agency, many terrorists have fled as the army is also advancing east of al-Sukhneh toward Deir ez-Zor.

The Russian Defense Ministry has previously stated that breaking the blockade of Deir ez-Zor will mark the defeat of the last capable grouping of IS terrorists in Syria.

“ISIL militants are still attempting to stop the advancement of the Syrian troops by relocating to the Deir ez-Zor region armor, pick-up trucks with high-caliber machine guns mounted on them, weapons and ammunition. They are creating fortifications with positions for artillery and mortars,” the Russian Defense Ministry reported Saturday.

In response, the Russian forces in Syria intensified airstrikes on the jihadists, destroying their armored vehicles, tanks, artillery positions and supply depots.

 “Defeating ISIL in the Deir ez-Zor region and lifting the blockade of the city will signify a strategic defeat of the international terrorist group in Syria,” the ministry said.

On Saturday, the Russian Air Force also backed the swift actions of the army and its allies who have liberated the town of Akerbat – considered to be the last major terrorist stronghold in Hama province and central Syria.

Lifting the Deir ez-Zor blockade will “provide Syrian armed forces and their allies with a really stable foothold in this part of northeast Syria,” geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen told RT.

“Strategically, you can’t say enough about how important this effort is right now,” he added. “Having a strategic partner like Russia with a viable air force, being able to coordinate targeting intelligence, being able to mount counter-insurgency efforts on the ground with air support, is incredible.”

The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Steffan de Mistura, also expects all major IS positions in Syria to fall by the end of October.

“What we are seeing is in my opinion the beginning of the end of this war… what we need to make sure is that this becomes also the beginning of peace,” de Mistura said on Friday. “And that is where the challenge starts at this very moment.” </s> Syrian troops are now at the gates of the Islamic State-besieged city of Deir ez-Zor, the governor of the province said, as the government forces continue to press forward, obliterating terrorist positions in the vicinity and on the outskirts of the city.

“The heroes of the army will arrive at Deir ez-Zor in 24-48 hours at the most,” the governor of Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, Mohammed Ibrahim Samra, told Reuters, adding that the Syrian Army was only 18-20 kilometers (11-12 miles) away from the city.

Earlier, an elite unit of the Syrian Army, called the Tiger Forces, came within 18 kilometers (11 miles) of the besieged city after destroying IS (Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist positions on the Bishri mountain chain, Al-Masdar News reported.

Despite massive redeployment of fighters and military hardware by the Islamic State terrorists from other parts of Iraq and Syria to Deir ez-Zor, the Syrian Army, with the help of the Russian Air Force, has been advancing toward the city on several fronts.

The key Euphrates city of Deir ez-Zor has been under terrorist siege for two and a half years, after being cut off from government-held areas in May 2015 during the jihadists’ offensive on Palmyra. The surrounded city, alongside a neighboring military base and airfield, have since been supplied with food and ammunition via airdrops by Russian and Syrian transport planes and helicopters.

On Sunday, the Syrian Army attacked IS barricades on the southwestern outskirts of the city, Sana news agency reported, killing several terrorists and seizing their weapons and ammunition.

“We carried out at dawn a successful raid against one of ISIS terrorists’ barricades in the direction of the Water Resources area through crawling and infiltrating it and throwing several bombs when we almost approached the area, killing all the terrorists at the site,” one of the soldiers told Sana.

The Syrian Army units have also expanded control in al-Badia, “eliminating the last gatherings of the organization in Hreibsha area that is located in the southwest of Deir Ezzor province.” According to Sana news agency, many terrorists have fled as the army is also advancing east of al-Sukhneh toward Deir ez-Zor.

READ MORE: ISIS terrorists pulling strongest units to Deir ez-Zor for last stand – Russian MoD

The Russian Defense Ministry has previously stated that breaking the blockade of Deir ez-Zor will mark the defeat of the last capable grouping of IS terrorists in Syria.

“ISIL militants are still attempting to stop the advancement of the Syrian troops by relocating to the Deir ez-Zor region armor, pick-up trucks with high-caliber machine guns mounted on them, weapons and ammunition. They are creating fortifications with positions for artillery and mortars,” the Russian Defense Ministry reported Saturday.

In response, the Russian forces in Syria intensified airstrikes on the jihadists, destroying their armored vehicles, tanks, artillery positions and supply depots.

“Defeating ISIL in the Deir ez-Zor region and lifting the blockade of the city will signify a strategic defeat of the international terrorist group in Syria,” the ministry said.

On Saturday, the Russian Air Force also backed the swift actions of the army and its allies who have liberated the town of Akerbat – considered to be the last major terrorist stronghold in Hama province and central Syria.

Lifting the Deir ez-Zor blockade will “provide Syrian armed forces and their allies with a really stable foothold in this part of northeast Syria,” geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen told RT.

“Strategically, you can’t say enough about how important this effort is right now,” he added. “Having a strategic partner like Russia with a viable air force, being able to coordinate targeting intelligence, being able to mount counter-insurgency efforts on the ground with air support, is incredible.”

The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Steffan de Mistura, also expects all major IS positions in Syria to fall by the end of October.

“What we are seeing is in my opinion the beginning of the end of this war… what we need to make sure is that this becomes also the beginning of peace,” de Mistura said on Friday. “And that is where the challenge starts at this very moment.” </s> DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — Syrian President Bashar Assad, in a telephone conversation with Deir ez-Zor defense commanders, congratulated the city's defenders on the lifting of a three-year blockade organized by the Daesh terrorist group, the Syrian presidential press service said in a statement Tuesday.

"It will be recorded in history how you, despite your small number, sacrificed the most valuable for the sake of civilians… Today, you and your friends fought shoulder to shoulder to lift the siege of the city," the statement quoted Assad as saying.

Earlier in the day the three-year siege of the city of Deir ez-Zor has been broken due to the Syrian government forces' operation.

Deir ez-Zor, located on the shores of the Euphrates River to the northeast of Damascus, and a militaryairfield near the city have been besieged by Daesh for over three years, with food and ammunition only being delivered by air, while helicopters from the city of Qamishli have been evacuating the wounded and delivering essential supplies to the city's population.

The Syrian army supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces has been advancing toward Deir ez-Zor from three directions as part of the campaign to free the city launched in August.

The lifting of the siege of Deir ez-Zor will lead to the complete defeat of the most combat-effective formations of the Daesh terrorist group in Syria, the chief of the Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate said earlier.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced earlier today that a Black Sea frigate launched strikes with cruise missiles on Daesh targets in Syria from the Mediterranean as part of the operation to free Deir ez-Zor from Daesh terrorists. </s> Syrian troops are now at the gates of the Islamic State-besieged city of Deir ez-Zor, the governor of the province said, as the government forces continue to press forward, obliterating terrorist positions in the vicinity and on the outskirts of the city.the governor of Syria's Deir ez-Zor province, Mohammed Ibrahim Samra, told Reuters, adding that the Syrian Army was only 18-20 kilometers (11-12 miles) away from the city.Earlier, an elite unit of the Syrian Army, called the Tiger Forces, came within 18 kilometers (11 miles) of the besieged city after destroying IS (Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist positions on the Bishri mountain chain, Al-Masdar News reported Despite massive redeployment of fighters and military hardware by the Islamic State terrorists from other parts of Iraq and Syria to Deir ez-Zor, the Syrian Army, with the help of the Russian Air Force, has been advancing toward the city on several fronts.The key Euphrates city of Deir ez-Zor has been under terrorist siege for two and a half years, after being cut off from government-held areas in May 2015 during the jihadists' offensive on Palmyra. The surrounded city, alongside a neighboring military base and airfield, have since been supplied with food and ammunition via airdrops by Russian and Syrian transport planes and helicopters.On Sunday, the Syrian Army attacked IS barricades on the southwestern outskirts of the city, Sana news agency reported, killing several terrorists and seizing their weapons and ammunition."We carried out at dawn a successful raid against one of ISIS terrorists' barricades in the direction of the Water Resources area through crawling and infiltrating it and throwing several bombs when we almost approached the area, killing all the terrorists at the site," one of the soldiers told Sana.The Syrian Army units have also expanded control in al-Badia, "eliminating the last gatherings of the organization in Hreibsha area that is located in the southwest of Deir Ezzor province."The Russian Defense Ministry has previously stated that breaking the blockade of Deir ez-Zor will mark the defeat of the last capable grouping of IS terrorists in Syria."ISIL militants are still attempting to stop the advancement of the Syrian troops by relocating to the Deir ez-Zor region armor, pick-up trucks with high-caliber machine guns mounted on them, weapons and ammunition. They are creating fortifications with positions for artillery and mortars," the Russian Defense Ministry reported Saturday.In response, the Russian forces in Syria intensified airstrikes on the jihadists, destroying their armored vehicles, tanks, artillery positions and supply depots.On Saturday, the Russian Air Force also backed the swift actions of the army and its allies who have liberated the town of Akerbat - considered to be the last major terrorist stronghold in Hama province and central Syria.Lifting the Deir ez-Zor blockade will "provide Syrian armed forces and their allies with a really stable foothold in this part of northeast Syria," geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen told RT.The UN's special envoy for Syria, Steffan de Mistura, also expects all major IS positions in Syria to fall by the end of October."What we are seeing is in my opinion the beginning of the end of this war... what we need to make sure is that this becomes also the beginning of peace," de Mistura said on Friday. "And that is where the challenge starts at this very moment."Encouraged by reports that the lifting of the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) blockade of Deir ez-Zor was days away, defenders of the city celebrated the news on Sunday night, as footage from inside the city shows.The video was reportedly shot in the Jura district of the city, which has been besieged by the Islamic State terrorist group since 2014.Syrian government forces are advancing from several directions to break the blockade of the provincial capital, with the Russian Air Force supporting the offensive from the air. </s> The Syrian army on Tuesday reached troops trapped for nearly three years by Isil fighters in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, according to state-run media and a monitoring group, breaking one of the longest sieges of the Syrian civil war.

Around 100,000 residents have been holding out in the Syrian-government held half of the city, including the airport and an army base, since Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) seized control of the area in 2014.

"The Syrian Arab Army has advanced on the Brigade 137 base front on the western side of Deir Ezzor city and broken the siege imposed by the Daesh organisation," state news agency SANA said, using the Arabic acronym for Isil.

A local journalist told AFP that flags had been raised throughout the government-held area in anticipation of the arrival of the soldiers, and that jubilant residents were greeting one another: “Good morning of victory”. </s> DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – The Syrian city of Deir Ez-Zor will be liberated from Daesh terror group militants in the coming days, Gen. Mohamed Khadur, the commander of the operation in the region, told Sputnik on Saturday.

"In the coming days, we will raise the Syrian flag in the skies of Deir Ez-Zor," Khadur said.

According to the commander, the liberation of Deir Ez-Zor depends in particular on regaining control of the road that links Deir Ez-Zor and the city of Palmyra.

Earlier in the day, local media reported that the Syrian Armed Forces had liberated the Taim oil field near Deir Ez-Zor and continued moving toward the city. The armed forces also regained full control over several settlements in the east of Homs province.

On Tuesday, the Syrian army lifted the three-year-old blockade of Deir ez-Zor. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the efforts of the Syrian government forces were backed by Russian airstrikes and cruise missile strikes.

Syria has been in the grip of a civil war for over six years. Government forces are fighting against Syrian opposition groups, who strive to overthrow President Bashar Assad, as well as numerous extremist and terrorist groups, such as the Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, also outlawed in Russia. </s> As the Syrian Army, supported by the Russian Air Force, is on the verge of breaking the Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) siege of the city of Deir ez-Zor, RT takes a closer look at why this battle could become the beginning of the end for the terrorist group.

The Syrian governmental forces continue to successfully develop their offensive on Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a press release Monday. Units commanded by General Suheil al-Hassan moved another 8 kilometers closer to the city over the last 24 hours and “took control over two strategically important high points.”

The Syrian Army also drove Islamic State terrorists out from their positions near the road connecting Palmyra and Deir ez-Zor, the ministry said.

Russia continues to lend air support to the Syrian forces. In their most recent 80 sorties, the Russian Air Forces destroyed “two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, and more than 10 all-terrain vehicles with heavy weapons mounted on them. The terrorists lost more than 70 people," the ministry said.

“Crushing Islamic State forces in the Deir ez-Zor area and lifting the blockade of the city will signify a strategic defeat for the international terrorist group in the Syrian Arab Republic,” the statement says.

Islamic State defenses on the outkirts of Deir ez-Zor are effectively collapsing, Syria's SANA news agency reported, with the Syrian Air Force successfully destroying Islamic State headquarters in the Hweika neighborhood in the city's west, killing at least nine terrorist commanders, and inflicting heavy losses on the jihadists in the villages of Ayyash and Shmeitiyeh, forcing many to flee or surrender.

According to some reports, the units of the Syrian Army advancing on the city from the west are just 10 kilometers away from a military base of the government forces located in a western neighborhood of the city.

Earlier, the governor of Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, Mohammed Ibrahim Samra, told Reuters that the Syrian Army would arrive at the city “in 24-48 hours at the most.”

Retaking Deir ez-Zor is of great importance for the fight against Islamic State in no small part due to its strategic location. It is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh-largest city in the whole country.

Deir ez-Zor and the surrounding governorate of the same name are located on the Syrian border with Iraq, so, if captured by the governmental forces, they will leave Islamic State terrorists effectively trapped in the heart of Syria in their only remaining stronghold of Raqqa.

“It is the last staging point for this terrorist organization, there are no other huge cities or major towns” in the area controlled by Islamic State, Martin Jay, a Beirut-based journalist, told RT. He also said that the liberation of Deir ez-Zor would be a “turning point” in the Syrian war.

“Once the city is taken and the surrounding area is flushed out of ISIS fighters we can really start to talk about the end of the war and about a new chapter of possibly restoring peace in [Syria],” he said.

Liberating the city would also give the governmental forces strategic advantage over the terrorists as it will “provide Syrian armed forces and their allies with a really stable foothold in this part of northeast Syria,” geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen told RT.

The terrorists also apparently understand the strategic importance of Deir ez-Zor as they repeatedly pulled their strongest units and heavy weapons to the area, preparing for the last stand, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

“The remaining [terrorist] forces are heading there. According to our data, militants from Mosul [in Iraq] moved there and the most battle-ready units from Raqqa,” General Sergey Rudskoy, spokesman for the Russian General Staff, said in late August.

A week later, the ministry said that the extremists also moved “tanks, all-terrain vehicles with high-caliber weapons and mortars mounted on them” to the Deir ez-Zor area, adding that the actions of the jihadists apparently show that they “recognize the fact that the staging area around Deir ez-Zor is the last stronghold of the international terrorists on the Syrian soil.”

The extremists’ efforts have so far been futile as the Syrian Army supported by Russian warplanes already defeated "the most capable and best armed group of ISIL in the Euphrates River valley,” according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

In the battle that took place on August 27, 800 terrorists and dozens of vehicles and heavy weapons were destroyed by the Syrian forces actively supported by Russian aircraft, the ministry said at that time.

On September 3, the ministry said that “the last major pocket of terrorist resistance in central Syria has been eliminated” during the battle over the strategic town of Akerbat in Hama governorate.

“The operation to destroy a large group of Islamic State fighters in the eastern part of the Hama province was carried out with the active support of the Russian Air Force” that destroyed terrorist strongholds and their armored hardware as well as IS artillery positions, control points and communication outposts, the ministry said.

A day earlier, Moscow said that once the Deir ez-Zor blockade is lifted, the terrorists’ strategic defeat in Syria will be imminent. In mid-August, the Russian defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, said that the fall of Islamic State in Deir ez-Zor would signal the end of the extremist group.

“Today there are key points, including Deir ez-Zor. I would say, first of all, Deir ez-Zor,” he said at that time, adding that “this is perhaps the main point at the Euphrates, which will in many ways indicate the end of the fight against ISIS.”



This assessment was also shared by the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, who said on September 1 that he expected the remaining Islamic State strongholds to fall within the next two months.

“What we are seeing is in my opinion the beginning of the end of this war… what we need to make sure is that this becomes also the beginning of peace,” the diplomat told BBC radio.

Apart from its strategic importance for the military defeat of IS, ending the siege of Deir ez-Zor would also have a significant economic effect and become a great relief for thousands of people currently trapped in the city surrounded by jihadists.

Deir ez-Zor is the capital of an oil-rich eastern Syrian province and the center of the Syrian oil industry that once served as a source of wealth to Islamic State as it captured the area and besieged the city. Depriving terrorists of these resources would be another significant blow for the extremist group.

It might also be one of the sources of revival of the Syrian economy following the end of the war. Some of the oil and gas fields in the province have already been liberated as the Syrian Army was pushing forward toward the city.

A key Euphrates city, Deir ez-Zor has been under terrorist siege for two and a half years, after being cut off from government-held areas in May 2015 during the jihadists’ offensive on Palmyra. Islamic State terrorists effectively blocked all commercial and humanitarian access into the city, trapping hundreds of thousands of civilians with little or no means to survive.

Between 93,000 and 125,000 civilians are still reportedly trapped in the city, living under appalling conditions, according to different estimates.

The surrounded city, alongside a neighboring military base and airfield, have since been supplied with food and ammunition via airdrops by Russian and Syrian transport planes and helicopters.

“May God make them victorious, and may He make ISIS humiliated. May God make us free of (ISIS) by the will of our army. I salute our army and president,” one resident told RT in August.

“We wouldn't have sat here without the Syrian Arab Army, we are sleeping while the army is protecting us,” another civilian added.

Encouraged by reports that the lifting of the blockade was days away, the people in the city celebrated the news late on September 3. </s> The Syrian Army on Tuesday reached outside the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, one of the Islamic State group’s footholds, according to state media Sana news agency. The Syrian government forces have been backed by Russian air support to reclaim the city.

Nearly 93,000 civilians have been trapped in the city since 2015, according to BBC. The air strikes have destroyed several vehicles belonging to the Islamic State group.

The Army has advanced on the Brigade 137 base front on the western side of Deir Ezzor city, the news agency said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that the security forces are currently 15 kilometres away from the city, AFP reported.

Deir al-Zor provincial governor Mohammed Ibrahim Samra said the government troops were trying to break the siege on the military airport as well, Reuters reported. “The coming days will also see the clearing of the city of Deir al-Zor [of the Islamic State group],” he added.

In August, the Bashar al-Assad’s Army had captured al-Sukhna from the terror outfit after heavy artillery firing and airstrikes by Russia.
The Syrian Army lifts the 28-month-long siege of Deir ez-Zor by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.