DAMASCUS, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Islamic State (IS) militants are still fighting intense battles in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour Province in eastern Syria, a war monitor reported Monday.
The Kurdish-led SDF militia is attacking the last IS-held pocket on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, in a bid to strip the terror-designated group of its last areas in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The battles, which started on Sept. 10, continued on Monday in two areas, or the towns of Baghous and Hajin.
The U.S.-led coalition also carried out airstrikes on the IS positions in the two towns, said the London-based watchdog.
In an earlier report, the Observatory said the IS militants are using three methods to confront the attacks by the SDF in Deir al-Zour.
The IS militants in its last pocket in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour are using underground tunnels to move between positions and frontlines to avert being targeted, it explained.
The militants are also launching counter-attacks against the SDF.
The third method is depending on an extensive network of mines planted around the IS-held areas to prevent the SDF entry.
Recent reports said the IS-controlled Syrian territory has shrunk to one percent from almost half of the country a couple of years ago.
The Syrian army has cleared the IS from large swathes of areas in Deir al-Zour Province, including its namesake capital city, while the SDF is attempting to consolidate positions in the northern and northeastern countryside of the province.
