The forces aligned against the Islamic State are fast closing in on the Iraq-Syria border, seizing control of critical territory held by the Islamic State as they go. With the successful capture of Deir el-Zour, Syrian forces loyal to the government in Damascus have removed the Islamic State from its last significant urban stronghold. Elsewhere in the province, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have continued driving the Islamic State back from a number of villages and oil and natural gas fields. On the Iraq side of the border, the Iraqi Army, supported by Iran-backed Shiite militias, has cleared large areas of Anbar province from Islamic State control, reaching the Syrian border on the Damascus-Baghdad highway....
