ISIS Loses Al-Mayadeen In Eastern Syria

Syrian government and allied forces have taken the eastern town of Al-Mayadeen from ISIS, a Syrian military source said on Saturday, further weakening the militants' diminishing presence in Syria.

Al-Mayadeen, near the Iraqi border in Deir al Zor province, had become a major base for ISIS terrorists as they were being driven out of their de facto Syrian capital in Raqqa city by a US-backed offensive.

Over the past few months many of the individuals which the US-led coalition against ISIS has targeted have come from Al-Mayadeen, coalition spokesman Ryan Dillon told Reuters.

The Syrian government campaign to take Al-Mayadeen has been supported by heavy Russian air strikes. The US-led coalition has also previously struck in the vicinity of the town.

Al-Mayadeen lies south of the provincial capital Deir al-Zor city, where Syrian and allied forces are also trying to oust the terrorists from a small pocket they still control.

The Syrian military source said the jihadists in Al-Mayadeen had suffered a "collapse" in their ranks.