The Islamic State (IS) is on the verge of expulsion from the provincial capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, as their forces continue to lose large neighborhoods to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) inside the city, Al-Masdar News reports.

Backed by a plethora of Russian airstrikes, the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th and 17th divisions, alongside the 5th Legion, stormed several districts inside Deir ez-Zor City on Monday, October 16, liberating a number of neighborhoods that were under Islamic State occupation for over two years.

According to a military report, the Syrian Arab Army managed to liberate several building blocks inside the Al-Rusafa and Al-Rashidiyah, killing and wounding scores of Islamic State militants in the process of this advance.

With the Islamic State nearly encircled inside the provincial capital, it won’t take long for the remaining militants to either abandon their positions or surrender to the advancing government troops.