Govt forces encircle last ISIS stronghold in Syria – reports

Syria’s army and its allies have surrounded and started to enter Albu Kamal, the pro-Hezbollah al-Manar television reported on Wednesday. Albu Kamal is the last significant stronghold of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria. IS’s ‘caliphate’ has been all but destroyed over the past two years in Syria, remaining only in Albu Kamal and a few neighboring towns and patches of desert, and some isolated pockets elsewhere, Reuters said.