BEIRUT, LEBANON (7:10 A.M.) – Footage captured the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) embracing with troops previously surrounded by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL) at the Brigade 137 base, Tuesday, after government forces broke the IS siege, in the Deir ez-Zor area, Tuesday.
Units of the Syrian Arab Army linked up with the previously-surrounded troops, thus breaking a three-year-long siege of the government-held enclave of Deir ez-Zor, with the help of the SAA Tiger Forces (also known as the Qawat Al-Nimr).
  The SAA reached the Brigade 137 base on the western edge of Deir ez-Zor, where a garrison of the Syrian army had been surrounded by IS since 2014.
In recent days, pro-government forces have made rapid advances with tanks and helicopters to push through IS lines.
The link-up to the garrison followed days of fierce battles in which the SAA and its allies swiftly seized IS positions. Much of Deir ez-Zor province, including a military air base and a number of towns and villages, remains under IS control.
Deir ez-Zor, which is situated southeast of IS’ former stronghold of Raqqa, has been under siege by IS since 2014.
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