The Syrian army says it has withdrawn its troops from Deir ez-Zor, a city at the heart of the movement to remove President Bashar al-Assad from power.
A military operation seized control of the city last Wednesday. Now the state-run news agency says the army has cleared the streets of what it calls "armed terrorist gangs".
Most international media are not allowed into Syria to confirm the reports.
But witnesses in the city have said that they are still being fired upon.
