Syrian regime soldiers backed by Russian airstrikes have reportedly forced Islamic State (ISIS) from the town of al-Qaryatain which sits sixty miles west of Palmyra which ISIS was forced from last Sunday. The army and its militia allies have "fully restored security and stability to al-Qaryatain after killing the last remaining groups of Daesh [ISIS] terrorists," Syria's SANA state news agency announced. They done this, state media reported, after surrounding the town from various directions before advancing. The town is surrounded by hills and initially came under ISIS control last August. However the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Syrian military had taken half the town and are still fighting ISIS in the towns north and southeast. The town was also struck by 40 airstrikes carried out by Russian and Syrian warplanes.
