The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is making progress south of the Deir ez-Zor Airport after successfully expelling the Islamic State militants from the town of Al-Muri’iyah, Al-Masdar News reports.

Led by detachments from the Republican Guard, the Syrian Arab Army pushed further south of Al-Muri’iyah on Saturday, September 16, advancing towards the northern entrance of Mohassan, which is a large town located south of Deir ez-Zor City.

According to some reports from the Syrian military, their forces have reached the outskirts of Mohassan; however, these claims may be a bit premature at this stage of the battle, Al-Masdar says.

Should the Syrian Army liberate Mohassan in the coming weeks, the troops will then be a mere 20 km away from Al-Mayadeen, which is the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria.