Sputnik - Syrian armed forces managed to secure the largest Daesh hotbed in Homs and the last significant citadel of terrorists on the way to the besieged city of Deir ez-Zor, a local source told Sputnik on Saturday.


According to the source, the Syrian army completely surrounded the town a few days before the final offensive.
"The Syrian army has freed the entire town of As Sukhnah, one of the last IS [Daesh] strongholds in Homs province. At the moment, engineers are inspecting the city for possible bombs and mines set by the IS militants," the source said.


On Saturday, the Syrian army supported by its Air Force repelled a Daesh attack on Deir ez-Zor.

A week ago, Khaled Alkhateb, a stringer working for the RT Arabic broadcaster, was killed in an anti-tank missile attack carried out by Daesh terrorists near the liberated settlement in As-Sukhnah, where fierce battles for its liberation were taking place.

Deir ez-Zor, located on the shores of the Euphrates River to the northeast of Damascus, and a military airfield near the city have been besieged by Daesh for over three years, with food and ammunition only being delivered by air.