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The Syrian Army and allied forces released a town from Daesh on Saturday in central Homs Province, where the terrorists have lost vast territory in recent months, state media said.
Syrian troops regained control of Al-Qaraytan “after eliminating terrorist Daesh groups that had infiltrated it,” Reuters quoted as state TV saying.
Earlier this month, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Daesh members had seized the town from government forces, part of a counter-attack by the terrorists who have come under intense pressure in eastern Syria.
The observatory said on Saturday that some terrorists had surrendered and others had withdrawn from the town after heavy fighting. The only Daesh presence in Homs was in a patch of desert in the east of the province, the Britain-based war monitor said.
The town of Al-Qaraytan lies some 100 km (60 miles) from the ancient city of Palmyra, and nearly 300 km (190 miles) from Deir ez-Zor city, the current focus of the Syrian government’s offensive against Daesh.
With the help of Russian jets and Iran-backed militias, the Syrian Army has taken swathes of land from Daesh in central Syria, including in Homs Province. After months of steady gains across the central desert, the army and its allies marched eastwards into Deir ez-Zor.
Daesh terrorists have been on the back foot across Syria, forced into their last strongholds in the east of the country. The Russian-backed Syrian Army and US-backed armed groups are waging separate offensives against Daesh in Deir ez-Zor Province, bordering Iraq.