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BEIRUT / Reuters
US-backed militias and the Syrian army advanced in separate offensives against IS in eastern Syria on Saturday, piling pressure on shrinking territory the group still holds in oil-rich areas near the Iraqi border.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance of mostly Arab and Kurdish fighters, launched a new operation against the extremists in the north of Deir al-Zor province that aims to capture areas north and east of the Euphrates river.
Syrian government forces and their allies, backed by Russia and Iran, meanwhile seized an oilfield from militants on the other side of the Euphrates and recaptured part of a road linking Deir al-Zor to areas held by IS further downstream.
The advances against IS in territory it has held for years as part of its self-declared caliphate will likely bring US-backed forces and the Syrian government side into closer proximity. A US warplane shot down a Syrian army jet near Raqqa in June and the SDF accused the Syrian government of bombing its positions, showing the risk of escalation between warring sides in a crowded battlefield.
The Syrian conflict, which started as a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, has drawn the military
involvement of most world powers.