Syria Conflict: Government forces claim victory over ISIL militants in south

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After weeks of fighting in Syria's south, government forces say they have pushed ISIL militants out of their last enclave there. They say that leaves the group in two pockets in the northeast. Alaa Ebrahim has more details.

Once again traveling into the middle of nowhere.

Mile after mile of lands covered in basalt rocks, reminders of the extraordinary volcanic activity from yesteryear.

But the remarkable landscape isn't why the media have decided to travel to Tulul Alsafa, nearly 300 kilometers south-east of the capital, Damascus.

This was ISIL's last holdout in southern Syria or one of its three remaining enclaves in the war-torn country.

GENERAL AKRAM SYRIAN ARMY'S 1ST LEGION "This is the crater of a dormant volcano with very steep hills, caves and holes that act as natural fortifications for the terrorists. It meant that even using simple weapons, like snipers and machine guns, they managed to pose a major threat. So we had to use new tactics."

The vast bare deserts of southern Syria aren't an easy place to visit at the best of times, never mind when there's fighting going on.

Extreme weather, long supply lines, and the unforgivable terrain have made the Syrian army's job much more difficult.

CAPTAIN BASHAR SYRIAN ARMY "In the battle here we saw that terrorists had access to a wide variety of ammunition and calibers; and they also had more sophisticated equipment, like night-vision goggles, that slowed us down, in addition to US-made sniper scopes."

It was from here that ISIL militants launched attacks in recent months, taking hundreds of hostages from Swieda city.

It was also from here that the radical group oversaw and operated smuggling routes, from Iraq to Jordan.

All of this is over now. But whilst the challenges ahead for the army are very different, they are no less difficult.

ALAA EBRAHIM SYRIA "In 2016, the US established a base in the border-crossing town between Syria and Iraq, known as Al-Tanf. Back then, ISIL was roaming the deserts freely between the two countries. Since then, of course, a lot has changed. ISIL gradually lost ground and the Syrian government recovered it."

But now the militants are nowhere to be seen in the south.

In fact, many fear the next big battle here could be between Syria and the US, because Damascus has always maintained that the Americans presence is illegal.

Alaa Ebrahim, CGTN, Southern Syria.