Syria army nears regime enclave besieged by IS

Syria's army battled the Islamic State group on the edges of Deir Ezzor yesterday, seeking to break the siege of a government enclave and oust the jihadists from a key stronghold.

The jihadist group has already lost more than half of its nearby bastion of Raqa to attacking US-backed forces, and the loss of Deir Ezzor city and the surrounding oil-rich province would leave it with only a handful of isolated outposts.

Deir Ezzor province borders Iraq, where IS has also been expelled from former strongholds Mosul and Tal Afar.

The jihadists hold large parts of Deir Ezzor province, and more than half the provincial capital Deir Ezzor city, the remainder of which is controlled by the government and under IS siege.

Syrian troops backed by ally Russia have been advancing towards Deir Ezzor city on several fronts for weeks.

By yesterday afternoon, Syrian state media said troops were swiftly approaching the city.

"The Syrian army has advanced towards Deir Ezzor to break the siege on it and is now just three kilometres (nearly two miles) from the city," a breaking news alert on state television said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Syrian troops and allied fighters had arrived at the Brigade 137 base on the western outskirts of the city, and were battling to reach troops besieged by IS inside.

A military source told AFP: "There have been multiple collapses of the Daesh (IS) line in the west of Deir Ezzor province, allowing the army to move quickly."

"The siege on the government troops will be broken within hours," the source added.