Damascus - The Syrian army has reached the administrative borders of the largely Islamic State (IS)-controlled province of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria, the Syrian army said Friday. Under the heavy fire backing of helicopters, the Syrian army continued to advance in the Syrian desert, reaching the administrative borders of Deir al-Zour, according to a short statement. The advance toward Deir al-Zour was made through the city of Sukhnah, which has been recently taken by the army, in the remote desert area of Sukhnah in the eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria. The months-long Syrian army operations in the desert initially aimed at clearing the key desert area in Syria from IS and to reach the borders of Deir al-Zour, where large swathes of the territory are under the control of IS, and the small government-held part has been besieged by IS since 2015.