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.