THE Isis death cult lost its last stronghold in the east of Aleppo province at the weekend when government forces recaptured Maskanah on the west bank of the Euphrates.

Isis fighters withdrew from Maskanah and its surrounding villages after losing much of the high ground overlooking the town.

Syrian government forces are now likely to shift their attention to the countryside east of Hama, where they hope to expel Isis from central Syria once and for all.

Isis also came under pressure in east Palmyra as the Syrian army, backed by allied forces, grabbed large swathes of territory as part of a wider operation to reach the embattled city of Deir Ezzor to the far east.

Several hilltops along the Palmyra-Deir Ezzor highway were captured by government troops, who are within five miles of the Isis-held town of Arak located on the road to the group’s main bastion Sukhnah.

The latter town is the last Isis defence line obstructing the army’s progress into the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, where the government-held capital of the same name has been under constant siege.

Isis forces launched several offensives in and around the provincial capital at the weekend to ease pressure on its allies under attack near Palmyra.

They battled for 48 hours to break through army fortifications around the Panorama roundabout, the 137th Artillery Brigade base and the military airport, but failed to make headway.

The Russian air force identified several Isis convoys fleeing Raqqa southwards to strengthen their forces in Palmyra and Deir Ezzor in recent days and reported destroying them with devastating air strikes that killed an estimated 80 jihadists.

Fierce fighting also broke out at the weekend in Dara’a city, which has been designated a “de-escalation zone” by mediators Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

Jihadist rebels of al-Qaida-affiliated Hetesh and the Free Syrian Army launched a powerful offensive inside the al-Manishiyah district but were rebuffed by artillery fire and air strikes.

A fresh round of Syrian peace talks has been scheduled for June 12-13 in the Kazakh capital Astana, Syria’s envoy to Moscow Riyad Haddad revealed on Saturday