ISIS fighters seize Syria gas field
At least ninety killed by Islamist attack on Syrian gas field
ISIS militants seize a gas field in Syria
Militant group Islamic State seized a Syrian gas field and killed at least 90 people on Thursday in one of the bloodiest clashes between the al Qaeda offshoot and President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a monitoring group said.
Islamic State has made rapid gains in Syria in recent weeks, mostly by seizing territory from rival rebel groups, using weaponry brought in from Iraq where last month it managed to take large areas from government forces.
The fighters on Thursday morning attacked the Shaer gas field, east of the ancient site of Palmyra, killing 23 guards, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"The fate of 340 National Defence Force [paramilitary] members, guards, engineers and employees who were in the field, is unknown, as they were either taken prisoner or wounded during the operation," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
The operation, he added, was the Islamic State's "most important so far against the government" of Bashar al-Assad.
Abu Bilal, an activist linked to the Islamic State in Homs province, also reported the attack.
At least 12 members of the Islamic State had been killed in the fighting, he said, adding that "dozens" were killed on the government side.
"There was a martyrdom [suicide] attack, and we took eight checkpoints before taking over the gas field," Abu Bilal told the AFP news agency via the internet.
Homs governor Talal Barazi also confirmed the attack.
"Armed men took control on Wednesday evening of the gas field, and we have lost contact with three technicians who were on the site," Barazi said.
"The armed men were present in the area beforehand, but they have now expanded their area of control with this new operation," he told AFP.
"The army is trying to take it back. There is fighting in the area and government air strikes."
The Islamic State, which proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq last month, has in recent weeks taken over the entire countryside of oil-rich Deir Az Zor province.
Deir Az Zor borders Homs province as well as Iraq, where the group has spearheaded a major offensive that has seen large swathes of territory fall out of the Iraqi government's control.
