Syrian army, allies break three-year siege in Deir al-Zor city
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army linked up on Tuesday with troops that Islamic State had encircled for years in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, breaking the siege, state media said. A military media unit run by Hezbollah, a key Damascus ally, said the advancing forces reached an army garrison at the edge of the city. The army and allied forces have made a swift lunge through militant lines in recent days to relieve an enclave in the Euphrates city, where Islamic State has besieged the garrison and some 93,000 civilians since 2014. (Reporting by Ellen Francis, editing by Larry King)