The Syrian army supported by allied forces has surrounded the largest ISIL terrorist group’s stronghold in the town of As Sukhnah located in the country’s province of Homs, a local source told Sputnik on Sunday.

As Sukhnah is the largest ISIL hotbed in Homs and the last significant citadel of terrorists on the way to the besieged city of Deir Ezzor.

“The [Syrian] army and its allies have surrounded… As Sukhnah. They have not entered the town, but the offensive is ongoing and the clashes are on the outskirts of the settlement,” the source said.

There was no official confirmation of Sukhnah’s capture from Syria’s government.

State news agency SANA said the army had surrounded the town from three sides.

Syrian army troops advanced overnight against ISIL in the country’s north and center, drawing closer to the key battleground of Deir Ezzor.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the army had made “significant progress” south of Raqqa city.

“There is now just four kilometers between regime forces and the town of Madan, which is the last town controlled by ISIL in the Raqqa countryside,” the Observatory said.

Madan lies next to the border between Raqqa province and Deir Ezzor, an eastern province that is mostly held by ISIL.

Source: Agencies