Free Republic

Islamic State fighters have broken through government defensive lines in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, surrounding a military airport and cutting off food supplies for roughly a quarter of a million civilians in what could become a major humanitarian disaster. Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria is divided between the militants and the government of Bashar al-Assad. The areas controlled by the government have long been under siege but were sustained by supplies flown in to the nearby military airport and by airdrops from the World Food Programme. But on Monday, Isis fighters, which sources from the city said were...

Syrian government forces clashed with Islamic State group fighters for a fourth day on Tuesday in an eastern city where a jihadist assault has left more than 100 dead, a monitor said. IS began a fierce attack Saturday on the remaining parts of Deir Ezzor under government control, and has managed to divide the city's eastern half from the west. It has also cut the supply route running from the city's key military airport, limiting the government's ability to bring in supplies and military reinforcements. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said on Tuesday that Syria's military and...