ISIS reeling before Syrian army advances in Aleppo and Palmyra regions

Lightning advances by Syrian troops in recent weeks send ISIS reeling and put Syrian army in stronger position as it races US backed forces to regain control of more and more areas of Syria.

With the situation in western Syria relatively stabilized following the ceasefire and the declaration of the ‘de-escalation areas’ there, the Syrian army has been able to commit more of its forces to the war against ISIS in eastern Syria.

The latest reports speak of the Syrian army, following rapid advances, closing on the town of Maskanah, ISIS’s last stronghold in Aleppo province. Apparently Syrians have now captured Maskanah’s railway station, leaving the ISIS fighters in Maskanah with the choice of either retreating from the town or being surrounded.

Further south, the Syrian army is continuing to clear territory around recently recaptured Palmyra, apparently in preparation for a major advance along the main road towards ISIS besieged Deir Ezzor.

The Syrian war in its present stage seems to be evolving into a race between US and Russian backed forces to decide which of them can capture more of Syria from ISIS before ISIS’s phoney Caliphate finally collapses. The most rapid advances at the moment are being made by the Russian backed Syrian army, with the US backed Kurdish militia which is concentrating around Raqqa apparently still not strong enough to capture the town. By contrast the Syrian army backed by the Russian air force has successfully carried out rapid advances against ISIS in the north in Aleppo – from which ISIS has been almost entirely cleared – and in central Syria on the line from Palmyra to Deir Ezzor.

MORE: ISIS reeling before Syrian army advances in Aleppo and Palmyra regions — Puppet Masters — Sott.net