The Syrian government forces continue to gain territory across the war-torn-country, with the most significant gain in recent weeks was the city of Homs, which was under the control of the Islamic State for several years. The Syrian military, which is backed by Shi’ite militias, Iran and Russian air support, continue to press their advance into eastern Syria and captured yet another town named al-Kadir, some 120 kilometers west of al-Zor province. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the recent Syrian operations were conducted with the direct backing of Russian military advisors.
An intelligence official, who is closely monitoring the Syrian military’s progress, told TV7 that Russia’s growing involvement in the operations alongside the Syrian forces aims to provide President Bashar Assad with control of Deir al-Zor province, which remains the last major foothold of the Islamic State in Syria. The official explained that the separate campaigns being waged by government forces, backed by Russia and Iran, and the campaign by the Syrian Democratic Forces-alliance, backed by the US-led coalition, turned into a so-called “race of control”, in which both sides aim to conquer as much as possible territory from the Islamic State – in what will become leverage in future negotiations and may well define the future of the war-torn-country.