Syria troops closer to besieging Daesh after crossing key river

Russian-backed Syrian forces are trying to tighten the noose around Daesh terrorists still inside the eastern city, which lies on the western banks of the Euphrates, AFP wrote.

The army has sealed off the city from three sides, but Daesh still controlled eastern districts along the river, which both terrorists and civilians had used as an escape route.

On Monday, elite Syrian troops crossed the river, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

“Today, Syrian government forces, reinforced by a unit of the 4th Armored Division and with the support of Russian aviation, crossed the Euphrates river in the Deir ez-Zor region,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said “shock troops” had already captured several villages on the river’s eastern banks from Daesh and were pushing further east.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Syrian commandos and reconnaissance units had crossed the river using a floating bridge.

“This paves the way for completely besieging the city,” said the observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The Euphrates slices diagonally across the province of Deir ez-Zor, an oil-rich region that borders Iraq.

Until Monday, Syrian troops had been fighting only west of the Euphrates, while the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces waged a rival offensive against Daesh to the river’s east.

The SDF has captured more than 500 square kilometers (190 square miles) from Daesh in northeastern parts of the province, according to the US-led coalition, which is providing air cover.