Nearly a week of heavy fighting over the Syrian government’s easternmost remaining military air base, in Deir Ezzor Province, has ended with the Syrian military expelling ISIS from the airport grounds.
Heavy losses were reported on both sides, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a rebel mouthpiece, saying at least 100 ISIS fighters and 59 Syrian troops have been killed since Wednesday.
It’s unclear if the fight is really over, or just over for now, as ISIS withdrew back to the village that borders the air base, and would clearly like to end its use against them.
Most air bases in the eastern portion of Syria have already fallen, and the Deir Ezzor base is really the last one left in the far east. The loss would greatly limit the Assad government’s ability to conduct airstrikes in the region.
