Syria army breaks Islamic State siege on Deir ez-Zor![]() September 5, 2017 - 15:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian government forces advanced against Islamic State on Tuesday, September 5 to reach troops surrounded for years by the jihadists in a government-held enclave in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, pro-Damascus media outlets and a monitoring group reported, according to Reuters. “The Syrian army and its allies break the siege on Deir ez-Zor,” a military media unit run by Syria’s ally Hezbollah said. State television and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that advancing Syrian forces had linked up with government troops in Deir ez-Zor. The army and its allies had made lightning advances in recent days and pushed through Islamic State lines to within kilometers of Deir ez-Zor. Islamic State had since 2014 besieged the government-held enclave, where some 93,000 civilians live and an army garrison is stationed. Deir ez-Zor is located southeast of Islamic State’s former stronghold Raqqa, most of which has been captured in a separate offensive by U.S.-backed Syrian militias. Islamic State fighters are believed to have fled to areas around Deir ez-Zor as the group loses areas of Raqqa. Both cities lie in oil-rich areas on the Euphrates river. Photo. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo ![]() ![]() Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. ![]() ![]() Partner news | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |