DAMASCUS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 241 Islamic State (IS) militants and 126 fighters of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed during the month-long battles in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Friday.
The battles was waged by the SDF against IS group's last remaining pockets on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, according to the monitor.
The SDF, with the help of the U.S.-led coalition, has been fighting IS with the aim of dislodging the group from its last stronghold in the towns of Hajin, Souseh, and Baghous in Deir al-Zour.
The operation is part of the U.S.-desired sway in the oil-rich region in Deir al-Zour.
The Syrian government has for long slammed the "illegal" operations in Syria as the coalition entered the course of the Syrian war in 2014.
Government officials have charged that the United States is ostensibly fighting the IS but in fact, they are trying to establish a base to secure their interest in eastern Syria, which explains their support to the Kurdish-led SDF.
