Syrian troops close to breaking IS siege in eastern city

BEIRUT — Syrian government forces and their allies are on the verge of breaking a nearly three-year siege imposed by the Islamic State group on parts of the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, opposition activists and state media said yesterday.

Breaking the siege on Deir el-Zour would mark another victory for President Bashar Assad, whose forces have been advancing on several fronts against IS and other insurgent groups.

Syrian troops and allied militiamen have for months been advancing toward Deir el-Zour, the provincial capital of the oil-rich province of the same name. Government forces are besieged in a handful of neighborhoods as well as a nearby airport.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday that the advancing forces are less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from a besieged, government-held air base known as Brigade 137. If they reach the base, they will be able to lift the siege.

State TV reported that government forces are only three kilometers (2 miles) away from breaking the siege. State news agency SANA reported the "collapse" of IS defenses in the area.

"The morale is very high," Deir el-Zour's governor Mohammed Ibrahim al-Samra told state TV, speaking from inside the besieged area.

"Assad's forces are few kilometers (miles) from breaking the siege," said opposition activist Omar Abu Laila, who currently lives in Europe but is from Deir el-Zour. He is with DeirEzzor 24, an activist group that has reporters throughout the eastern province.

Al-Manar TV, the media arm of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, aired footage of people celebrating in the streets of besieged parts of Deir el-Zour. Some 70,000 people live in government-held areas, which have been relying on air drops for food and basic goods.

Hezbollah is fighting alongside Assad's forces, and Russia is providing crucial air support. The Russian Defense Ministry said its aircraft have carried out 80 airstrikes, destroying two tanks and killing and wounding 70 people in the Deir el-Zour area.

Thousands of people have been fleeing Deir el-Zour province because of the offensive, many of them heading toward the northeastern province of Hassakeh. Last week dozens of people were killed or wounded by mines laid by the militants.

IS has suffered a series of major setbacks in both Syria and Iraq in recent months. The group is now forcibly conscripting all men between the ages of 20 and 30 to replace lost fighters.