BEIRUT – Syrian state television said the Syrian army advanced on Tuesday to within 100 meters of troops that Islamic State has surrounded for years in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor.

The army and allied forces have come close to relieving the Euphrates city after a swift lunge through jihadist lines. Islamic State has since 2014 besieged a government-held enclave where some 93,000 civilians live and an army garrison is stationed.