MESOP News Roundup: Thursday, September 10 / IS less than 3km from regime airbase in Deir e-Zor

 Regime and Islamic State forces exchanged artillery and rocket fire Thursday after the latter captured a regime base considered the “first line of defense” for the airport as well as a barracks, an activist told Syria Direct Thursday.

The Missile Brigade’s army base, less than 3km away from the airport, “is considered the first line of defense southeast of the airport,” said Muhammad Said, an activist and former resident of Deir e-Zor city now living in Turkey who maintains close contacts in the provincial capital. IS captured both the regime’s Missile Brigade army base and the al-Binaa al-Abyad barracks on Wednesday, to the southeast and east of the regime’s airbase respectively, reported pro-opposition All4Syria Thursday. The exact distance between the Missile Brigade base and the airport is not clear. While pro-opposition sources put the distance at anywhere from 1.5km to 3km, two of Syria Direct’s sources said the base is up to 3km from the airport.The Deir e-Zor military airport is the third-largest regime airbase and is also the regime’s launching pad for air raids on the Islamic State in the province writ large. www.mesop.de