A number of IS gunners were killed and their weapons were destroyed in the town of al-Sukhna, 50 km northeast of the ancient city of Palmyra. The Syrian government troops are heading west and have passed the administrative frontier of Deir al-Zor province.
Syrian army soldiers. AP |
Also on Saturday, Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units killed nine IS militants in a fierce clash near the border with Syria. The Hashd Shaabi fighters, backed by artillery, repelled the attack of dozens of IS militants at a military outpost and forced them to retreat to their bases in Syria. The clashes and the artillery shelling killed nine IS militants and wounded four others, destroying three IS vehicles.