Footage has been released on Monday, September 4 by the Syrian Ministry of Defence (MoD) showing vanguard units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) punching their way towards the gates of Deir ez-Zor city, Al-Masdar News reports.

The video (below) shows Syrian Army tanks and troops, backed up by Russian gunship support, rolling up the last Islamic State positions and defense points en-route to relieve pro-government forces that have been besieged in and around the city for almost three years.

Pro-government forces attempting to reach Deir ez-Zor currently stand about five kilometers from the city through the northeastern direction.

On Sunday, there were reports that a deep reconnaissance unit from the SAA’s relieving forces scouted their way to besieged army forces at the 137th Brigade Base on the western outskirts of Deir ez-Zor and met up with them.

Even if confirmed, the reconnaissance mission does not constitute a proper link-up and thus the siege of Deir ez-Zor has not yet been lifted despite some pro-government social media outlets saying otherwise.

Furthermore, the town of Ash-Shula officially remains in the hands of the Islamic State group, with the Syrian Army’s elite Tiger Forces taking up positions on the settlement’s northern outskirts.