The Syrian army says it is in full control of Deir el-Zour

The Syrian army announced on Friday it liberated the long-contested eastern city of Deir el-Zour from the Islamic State group, a largely symbolic victory in the military's bigger fight to capture the last remaining IS strongholds in the oil-rich

The Syrian army announced on Friday it liberated the long-contested eastern city of Deir el-Zour from the Islamic State group, a largely symbolic victory in the military's bigger fight to capture the last remaining IS strongholds in the oil-rich province along the border with Iraq.

Smoke billows from the Syrian city of Deir el-Zour during an operation by Syrian government forces against IS group jihadists on Thursday. Pic/AFP

In a statement, the military said it was now in full control of the city, after a week-long campaign carried out with allied forces. It said army units were now removing booby traps and mines left behind by the extremist group in the city.

Deir el-Zour, on the west bank of the Euphrates River, had been divided into a government-held and an IS-held part for nearly three years. Syrian government forces and their pro-government allies first broke the militant group's siege of their part of the city in September in a Russian-backed offensive, and have been advancing against IS positions since then. The city is the largest in eastern Syria and the capital of the province with the same name.

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