Syrian troops and allied forces have pushed back ISIL militants and US-backed opposition fighters, gaining control of a large swath of territory in the country’s strategic southern desert, Syria media said Saturday.

With the new advances, the government and allied troops secured an area nearly half the size of neighboring Lebanon. The strategic juncture in the Syrian desert also restores government control over mineral and oil resources. The gains aid government plans to go after ISIL in Deir al-Zor, one of the terrorists’ last major stronghold in Syria. The oil-rich province straddles the border with Iraq and is the group’s last gate to the outside world.

The government and its allies have now secured the phosphate mines in Khneifes, once controlled by ISIL. The Syrian Central Military media said the new advances widen the government’s control south of Palmyra in Homs province and secure the highway linking the ancient city to the capital Damascus. The new advances, it said, secured over 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) in the desert area.

Source: Websites