Battle to break siege on Syria's Deir al-Zour imminent as ISIS loses Al-Sukhnah city

The black flag of the Islamic State (IS) group is all that is left in the strategic city of Al-Sukhnah in central Syria, after the Syrian army and allied fighters recently took hold of the city, deemed as the gate to Deir al-Zour province in the east.


Called the "strategic heart of Syria," Al-Sukhnah city in the eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria has finally fallen to the Syrian army and allied fighters, following intense battles and heavy airstrikes against the terror-designated group, which had been in control of the city for two and a half years.

On Saturday, the Syrian army announced its full recapture of the city, which was the last IS stronghold in the eastern countryside of Homs.

Located in the Syrian desert, some 70 km east of Palmyra city in eastern Homs, Al-Sukhnah was so important for IS as it was its supply hub between Homs and Deir al-Zour as well as to the IS-held areas in the eastern countryside of Hama province in central Syria.

Capturing Al-Sukhnah, only 55 km from the western administrative borders of Deir al-Zour, is the crucial point for the army to break the years-long IS siege on the city of Deir al-Zour.
 [Xinhua/globaltimes.cn]
14/8/17