RNA - The terrorists in Deir Ezzur province sustained heavy losses in tough battle with the Syrian army.
The Syrian army also continued its advances in other key provinces across Syria.
Deir Ezzur
The Syrian army's ground and air forces launched a major anti-ISIL operation in Southern Deir Ezzur, and pushed the terrorists back after a heavy battle.
The army soldiers engaged in fierce clashes with the ISIL terrorists near Brigade 137 region, Talat al-Barouk and Panorama in the Southern and Southwestern parts of Deir Ezzur city.
Meantime, the Syrian fighter jets launched heavy air assaults on ISIL moves and positions in al-Roshdiyeh, al-Huwaiqeh, Hawijeh Sokr, the old airport, al-Jafreh, al-Sana'ah, al-Arafi, Ayash, al-Hajif and al-Bu Lail regions as well as areas near the airport, killing and wounding a number of terrorists and destroying their weapons and military equipment.
Also, Syrian airstrikes on ISIL positions in al-Hawijeh-al-Jafreh in the Northern parts of Deir Ezzur airbase blew up 4 vehicles and inflicted a hundred percent casualty on the terrorists traveling in the vehicles.
Local sources said that the ISIL has started replacing senior field commanders in Deir Ezzur after sustaining repeated defeats in the battle against the Syrian army troops and reported death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The sources said that the ISIL is replacing a number of its notorious commanders in the Eastern province of Deir Ezzur to regroup its forces after heavy defeats the terrorist group has suffered in clashes with the army.
The sources further added that Abu Bin Laden Iraqi has been appointed by the ISIL as the chief commander of the terrorist group in Deir Ezzur, while Abu Tofiq Iraqi was appointed as Security Commander and Abu Aref Iraqi as the financial official responsible of the group in Deir Ezzur.
Damascus
The Syrian army imposed control over all the tunnels that were once used by the terrorists in Eastern Damascus, a field source said, adding that the first stage of their operations in the region is complete now.
The source said that the army has completed an important part of its goals by capturing the town of Ain Tarma and "all the tunnels dug by the terrorists on the basis of Israeli plans and designs".
"Meantime, the Syrian army intends to separate the towns of Jobar, Zmalka and Ain Tarma from each other and advance inside the districts in Eastern Damascus in a way that the terrorists are left with no other option but retreating towards the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus," he added.
The source also said that the army has demolished the terrorists' bases, 4 operations rooms and several other targets, including a number of arms and ammunition depots as well as the logistics sent from Harmaleh passageway to the militants, in artillery and missile attacks against the terrorists' bases and positions in the towns of Ain Tarma, Jobar and Zmalka.
Aleppo
The Syrian army continued mop-up operations South-East of Aleppo, driving the terrorists out of the only stronghold that was still under ISIL's control in the province.
The Syrian army troops conducted military operations against the last remaining ISIL stronghold in Aleppo province that is represented by a belt of fortified villages buried in a mountainous semi-desert landscape to the Northeast of the strategic town of Khanasser.
The army soldiers could retake control of the town of al-Jadideh in the Eastern parts of Khanasser.
They also continued operations in the Northeastern parts of Khanasser, recapturing the towns of Rasm Askar, Al Atshaneh and Sharimeh.
The army troops, meantime, won back control of three strategic hills in the region.
The Syrian army troops' advances against ISIL in the Southeastern parts of Aleppo province have paved the ground for the pro-government forces' great military achievements along the road that connects Aleppo to Hama province, well-placed army sources said Wednesday.
The sources said that the Syrian pro-government forces will soon end one of their hardest battles against ISIL in Badiyeh (desert) East of the road that connects the town of Khanasser in Southeastern Aleppo to the town of al-Salamiyah in Hama province.
They went on to say that given the importance of the region and ISIL's strong resistance, tough battle is now underway in the battlefront.
The sources further said that the ISIL has been relocating its forces from Raqqa countryside to the surroundings of Khanasser-al-Salamiyah road, the only supply line of the army to Aleppo city, to make the strategic route insecure.
In the meantime, the army soldiers have been fighting terrorists to foil ISIL's penetration attempts from Khanasser and to force the terrorists to retreat from the vital road of Khanasser, the sources said, adding that upcoming military achievements of the army will end ISIL's attempts to decrease the pro-government forces' pressure on Eastern Homs and Southwestern Raqqa.
The sources went on to say that with the restoration of full security to the road to Aleppo, the army will be capable of dispatching fresh forces to other battlefields to support their comrades in Southern and Eastern Syria.
Field sources also said on Wednesday that the Syrian Army troops' advances in Aleppo and Raqqa provinces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces' victories in Raqqa have put the ISIL terrorist group on the brink of complete collapse in the Northern parts of the country.
The sources said that as the Iraqi forces are taking the last steps towards the full liberation of Mosul city, the ISIL's capital in Iraq, the Takfiri terrorists are experiencing their worst days in Northern Syria.
As the liberation of Raqqa city will no doubt be a demoralizing loss for ISIL, the battle often overshadows the Syrian Army’s ongoing operations along the Aleppo-Raqqa road, the sources went on to say.
They added that for the ISIL, losing Raqqa city doesn’t mean the end of their so-called ‘caliphate’ in Northern Syria; "however, the loss of the Ithriya-Salamiyah Highway does".
Over the past years, the ISIL group has used the highway to transport provisions to their forces in Eastern Aleppo and Western Raqqa, and if the Syrian army manages to capture it, the terrorists are left with no supply route to the Maskana and Khanasser plains or the Western bank of the Euphrates River.
The sources underscored that if the ISIL loses Raqqa city and Ithriya-al-Salamiyah road their presence in Northern Syria will come to an end.
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