MOSCOW, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Over 800 terrorists of the ISIL group were killed in Syria as a result of an operation conducted by the Syrian government forces and the Russian air force, the Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday.
"Government forces led by General Suheil al-Hassan, with the massive support of the Russian Air Force, eliminated the most efficient and well-armed ISIL unit in the Euphrates River valley near the town of Ghanem al-Ali on August 27, 2017," the ministry said in a statement.
More than 800 terrorists, 13 tanks, 39 pick-up trucks equipped with large-caliber machine guns, 9 mortars and artillery guns were destroyed during the operation, the document said.
A grouping of the Syrian government forces is currently waging an rapid offensive at the city of Deiz-ez-Zor along the eastern shore of the Euphrates River with the aim of liberating this city and destroying the last stronghold of the ISIL in Syria, according to the ministry.
Located in northeastern Syria, Deiz-ez-Zor has been under the ISIL's blockade for several years, with food and other cargoes being delivered only by air transportation.