According to the Russian press agency Sputnik, US special forces have evacuated about 20 Daesh commanders from Deir ez-Zor before proceeding to liberate this Syrian city.

The first extraction probably took place on 26 August 2017: two Daesh commanders of European origins would have been evacuated with their families by US Air Force helicopters. The second extraction: probably involved another 20 commanders on 28 August 2017.

On Tuesday 5 September 2017, the Syrian Arab Army set free the people of Deir ez-Zor, that had been under a jihadist siege for three years. It was helped out by the Russian army which, using penetrating missiles launched from the Mediterranean, destroyed the underground bunkers built by Lafarge.