IS lost two of its strongholds in Syria and Iraq

So-called Islamic State (IS) has lost control of two of its last

remaining strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
Early on Friday Syria's army announced it had taken Deir al-Zour. Later in the day the Iraqi prime minister said al-Qaim, across the border, had been recaptured by government forces.
The town was taken "in record time", PM Haider al-Abadi said.
Iraqi forces say they have also seized the last border post between Iraq and Syria that was held by IS.
Last month, a US-backed Syrian alliance took control of Raqqa in Syria, the former capital of Islamic State's self-styled "caliphate".
In July, Mosul - Iraq's second-largest city - was taken from IS after months of fighting.
The territorial ambitions of IS are now all but destroyed although its ideology remains powerful, says the BBC's Arab Affairs Editor Sebastian Usher.
Source BBC News.