News - Middle East: Foreign-backed militants in Syria, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), claim to have “completely” taken control of the eastern city of Deir al-Zawr as the Israeli regime presses ahead with its incessant aggression on Syrian soil.

Hassan Abdul Ghany, the military operations commander of HTS, said they fully seized Deir al-Zawr after the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had reportedly withdrawn from the city.

The news came days after the US-backed Kurdish militants announced they had captured Deir al-Zawr, making it the third city to slip within a week from the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, which collapsed after a shock attack by HTS-led militants.

The cities of Latakia and Tartous as the last and main strongholds of the former Syrian government on the eastern coast of the country were also reported to have come under the control of the militants.

The seizure of Deir al-Zawr took place as the Israeli occupation forces in their latest aggression on Syrian soil targeted the military airport of the eastern city following the SDF’s retreat.

The Israeli military announced in a statement that the regime’s jets and warships had struck 480 targets in the cities of Damascus, Homs, Tartous, Latakia and Palmyra in the past 48 hours.

The statement also said the Tiyas airbase in Homs Province as well as Damascus and Qamishli airports were also hit.

The Israeli military claimed to have destroyed up to 80 percent of Syria’s military capabilities in what it bragged to be one of the largest offensive operations in the illegal regime’s history.

The UN special envoy for Syria has called the Israeli attacks a deeply troubling development, describing the current situation in the Arab country as highly fluid.

Geir Pedersen said tensions remain unresolved and urged other countries to avoid actions that could impede the peaceful transition of the Syrian government to militants.

The HTS-led militants stormed the Syrian capital of Damascus early on Sunday after scoring major gains in the Arab country’s north following their resurgence in two weeks.

Amid the militants’ attempts to stage a comeback in the country, reports pointed to their receiving strong support on the part of the Israeli regime, Turkey, and some Western states, which have been acting as the main backers of anti-Damascus outfits since the outbreak of foreign-backed militancy in Syria in 2011.

Press TV