BEIRUT: - Syria's army seized the last Islamic State group stronghold in the country's Homs province on Saturday, clearing their path to attack the jihadists in the country's east, a monitor said. Al-Sukhna, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) northeast of the famed ancient city of Palmyra, is the last town on the road to the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, where a government garrison has held out under IS siege since early 2015. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said government forces had captured the town after heavy army artillery fire and air strikes by government ally Russia. –AFP