IS gains ground near key Syria eastern city

The Islamic State group gained ground around a key eastern Syrian city yesterday, a monitor said, despite a heavy air strikes by government warplanes.

The jihadists pressed their brutal assault on Deir Ezzor for the second day, seizing territory near an air base on the city's edges, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"IS seized several hilltops that overlook the airport," and clashes gripped the area yesterday, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The advance came "despite more than 120 air strikes carried out by regime forces on jihadist positions since Saturday morning, in addition to heavy artillery fire," he said.

Around 200,000 people live in Deir Ezzor city, which has been besieged by IS since early 2015 and is the capital of the oil-rich province of the same name.

IS already controls more than half the city, but it has sought to capture the remaining government-held territory, including the military airport.

It launched one of its fiercest assaults yet on Saturday, unleashing a wave of tunnel bombs and suicide attackers. At least 12 government fighters and 20 IS jihadists were killed.

Meanwhile, heavy clashes erupted overnight between regime and rebel forces near Damascus after the official who negotiated a deal to restore water to the Syrian capital was killed, a monitor said yesterday.

Government workers had entered the formerly rebel-held area in the Wadi Barada region near Damascus on Friday to begin restoring water to the capital after weeks of shortages.