(presstv) -- “Terrorist organizations Isis and al-Nusra have sustained their most serious losses for the last several months. Due to the effective operations of the Russian forces, they have been seriously weakened,” said a statement released by the ministry on Saturday.

It added that during the 11 days of operations between September 19 and 29, at least 16 terrorist commanders, 67 outposts, 51 weapons depots, 27 tanks, 21 missile launchers, and 200 armored vehicles were also targeted.

“With help from the Russian Air Force, the Syrian army is currently completing the encirclement and destruction of a large Isis force, numbering about 1,500 fighters, which invaded from Iraq, in the eastern part of Deir ezzor,” added the statement.

Isis overran large parts of Deir ezzor province, including its many oil fields, in mid-2014 as it seized swathes of land in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

By early 2015, the Takfiri terrorists were in control of some parts of Deir ezzor city and besieged the remaining parts, which were under government control. It is estimated that 100,000 people remain in the government-held parts of the city.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that more than 10,000 people may be living in the Isis-held parts of Deir ezzor.

(Photo: Military jets fly during the joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises Zapad-2017 (West-2017) at a training ground near the town of Borisov on September 20, 2017. by AFP)