Syria: Scores Killed in Clash as Jihadis Seize a Gas Field
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Version 0 of 1. Islamic extremists killed at least 115 Syrian troops, guards and workers while capturing a gas field in central Syria after a long day of clashes, antigovernment activists said on Friday. More than 20 insurgents also died in the fighting for the Shaer gas field. The battle, which took place on Thursday, represented one of the deadliest clashes so far between fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and military forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. ISIS fighters had previously captured much of Syria’s oil-rich eastern province of Deir al-Zour. The large assault on the Shaer gas field, which lies in the desert region of Palmyra in the central province of Homs, began with a suicide bombing and an attack on army checkpoints. After fighting with government forces for 12 hours, the jihadis took complete control of the gas field, according to a local antigovernment activist. |