Beirut: Syrian state media and an opposition monitoring group say government forces are marching toward the last town held by the Daesh group in the central province of Homs.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that government forces and their allies have reached within 25 kilometres, west of the town of Sukhna, which has been held by the extremists since May 2015.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, confirmed troops are marching deep in the desert area near the historic central town of Palmyra. The agency says government forces captured the so-called “Arak Triangle,” which links the town of Sukhna and Arak to a major oil pumping station.

Syrian troops have been advancing against Daesh, capturing wide areas over the past months.