The Syrian army continues to battle the Islamic State, near the Euphrates, not far from the city of Deir al-Zor. The Syrian army, which is supported by Russia and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias, continues to make rapid gains in the area that has been under Islamic State-control since 2014. A Syrian field commander noted that Damascus has taken a decision to eradicate the extreme Muslim group completely, and as such the Syria army will pursue those directives by assuring that all affiliated members of the Islamic State will meet their fate soon. He said, “Their fate is hell, and the Syrian army pursues its operations step by step to avoid any traps and soon you will hear good news.”
While the Syrian military seeks to eradicate the Islamic State from its war-stricken territory, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that Turkey, in cooperation with Russia, will deploy troops inside the established de-escalation zone in the Syrian province of Idlib, where rebels – many of them affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State – have sought refuge from the advances of the Syrian regime. President Erdogan said, “Regarding the borders of de-escalation zone in Idlib, Russia maintains security outside these borders and Turkey maintains the security inside. With doubled security measures, we are taking steps to overcome the troubles in the region. Turkey continues to cooperate with Russia in this respect. I will have a meeting with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin on Monday,” the Turkish President said.
President Erdogan said in an interview with the Reuters News Agency in New York, on the sidelines of the annual Summit of the UN General Assembly in New York that the “de-escalation” zones, agreed by Turkey, Russia and Iran, would be further discussed in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip to Ankara next week. He said, “We see (Syrian President Bashar) Assad’s remaining in power as a murder. Because Assad is someone carrying out state terror. He is the one who killed nearly one million people and they are his own people.”