Syrian Army Preparing to Storm ISIL’s Vital Bastion en Route to Deir Ezzur from Two Fronts

A battlefield source said the Syrian Special Forces are not looking to increase their presence in Raqqa province; “instead, they have plans to push South from the town of al-Rasafeh in Southern Raqqa towards al-Sukhnah in Eastern Homs”.

The source added that the Syrian Armed Forces plan to launch their offensive from two different fronts in order to force the ISIL to retreat from the key town near the Deir Ezzur border.

The source went on to say that the second front of the army operation starts from the Eastern direction of the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur) toward West of al-Sukhnah, adding that the army forces are now advancing rapidly against terrorists in the front.

Another source said that the army has dispatched more heavy equipment to Arak region in Eastern Homs to intensify attacks on ISIL’s defense lines in al-Sukhnah.

The source further added that following ISIL’s defeats in Aleppo and Raqqa provinces, the fresh army operation that will cover Eastern Hama and Homs and the entire Deir Ezzur province is so important that the army would dispatch more forces and equipment to advance towards Deir Ezzur with the back up of the Russian Air Force.

Earlier reports said that the army men and the Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, who had captured the heights overlooking al-Heil oilfield and had laid siege on the ISIL in the strategic region, managed to advance against ISIL in the depth of Badiyeh (desert) and seized full control over a large part of al-Heil oilfield near the town of al-Sukhnah.

In the meantime, the Russian and Syrian fighter jets carried out repeated attacks on ISIL’s defense lines in al-Heil, killing a number of terrorists.

According to reports, a few dozens more of ISIL terrorists have remained in the region, and the army soldiers seem to have an easy job to move fast towards al-Sukhnah.

Field reports also said that the pro-government forces are engaged in a military operation to liberate the oil-rich town of al-Sukhnah from ISIL.

Al-Sukhnah is the last bastion of ISIL fighters in Homs and the last strategic barrier which stands before pro-government forces can lifting the siege of Deir Ezzur.