The Syrian army and allied paramilitary groups continue to send considerable reinforcements to the province of Deir ez-Zor – namely a key countryside area held by government forces on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, Al-Masdar News reports citing pro-government sources.

Although rather quietly, Syrian forces have in fact been buffing-up their presence around the towns of Khasham, At-Tabiyyah and Marat on the east Euphrates shore following US airstrikes in February.

The claims of pro-government sources aside, the US military has also been vocal about what it has identified as a reinforcing of the Euphrates valley region by the Syrian Army and allied paramilitaries – disseminating information of its observations through mainstream Western news groups like CNN.

At the same time, there are also reports of a continuing build-up of government forces in western Deir Ezzor province where IS maintains control over a large area (several thousands square kilometers in size) of desert countryside from which it has launched some serious attacks since the beginning of 2018.