Syrian government troops advanced overnight from Saturday to Sunday against the Islamic State (IS) group in the country’s north and center, drawing closer to the key battleground of Deir Ezzor, a monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the army had made “significant progress” south of Raqqa city.
“There is now just 4 kilometers between regime forces and the town of Madan, which is the last town controlled by IS in the Raqqa countryside,” it said.
Madan lies next to the border between Raqqa Province and Deir Ezzor, an eastern province that is mostly held by the IS.
Militants have besieged government forces and civilians inside the provincial capital Deir Ezzor city since 2015.
Syrian loyalist troops are battling the IS in the south of Raqqa Province separately from an offensive by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a militia fighting the jihadists inside Raqqa city.
The regime is also fighting the IS in central Homs Province, where overnight they captured the last militant-held town in the area, the Observatory said.
The capture of al-Sukhna opens the route for government troops to advance toward Deir Ezzor on a second axis.
There was no official confirmation of al-Sukhna’s capture from Syria’s government.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said the army had surrounded the town from three sides.
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