Analysis: Can IS be ousted from Syria without Assad's help?

FILE — In this June 27, 2017 file photo and released on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad inspects the Russian Hmeimim air base in the province of Latakia, Syria. (Syrian Presidency via AP, File)
BEIRUT (AP) — As the U.S.-led coalition tightens the noose around the Islamic State group in Syria, President Bashar Assad’s Iranian-backed troops are also seizing back territory from the militants with little protest from Washington, a