US-backed Syrian Kurds seize control of Syria’s Deir Ezzor: Sources

A US-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters has seized the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, three Syrian sources said on Friday, the third city to fall out of the government’s control in a week.

Two security sources based in eastern Syria said the alliance, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, had taken full control of Deir Ezzor by Friday afternoon.

Omar Abu Layla, an activist from the media platform Deir Ezzor 24 with contacts in the city, said that Syrian government forces and Iran-backed Iraqi fighters had pulled out of Deir Ezzor before the SDF swept in.

An Iraqi security source said the SDF were also advancing in the direction of the Syrian town of Albukamal, which sits on the border with Iraq, and could take it within the next 24 hours.

The SDF advance came as Syrian opposition forces led by “Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS), a group formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda, bore down on the central Syrian city of Homs on Friday.

Armed opposition forces had already taken the northern city of Aleppo last week and the city of Hama earlier this week, dealing the biggest blows to the government in years.