DAMASCUS, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Wednesday declared dislodging the Islamic State (IS) militants from the desert region of Deir al-Zour of an estimated 5,800 square km, according to the state news agency SANA.
The Syrian army said in its statement that it had liberated the entire desert of Deir al-Zour all the way to the Iraqi border. It added that the achievement came following a series of intense battles with the terror-designated group.
This desert region extends from the administrative border of Homs province in central Syria to the Iraqi border, the statement said, adding that this victory proves the determination of the Syrian army to hunt down the terrorist groups until restoring peace and security on all Syrian territories.
In November last year, the Syrian army fully captured the capital city of Deir al-Zour from IS and started operations against this group in the countryside of that oil-rich province.
This defeat adds to a series of blows the IS militants suffered in recent months, the latest of which was their defeat in the Yarmouk Camp and Hajar al-Aswad areas, their last strongholds south of the capital Damascus.
