News / Syria

Syrian army pushes to retake control of oil, gas wells

Sunday, 05 February 2017 10:53 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 05 February 2017 10:53 AM ]

A member of the Syrian government forces stands next to a well at Jazel oil field, near Palmyra, Homs Province, March 9, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

The Syrian military has launched an operation to win back control of oil and gas wells in a push to choke off the sources of funding for foreign-backed terrorist groups.

Government forces managed to advance on the eastern suburbs of Homs city and recapture a number of oil and gas wells such as Jihar, the Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Syrian troops also destroyed some vehicles and equipment owned by Daesh terrorists, the report added.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Ministry of Defense announced that the positions and warehouses belonging to the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, were demolished in several areas situated on the outskirts of Homs. All militants present in the targeted areas were killed.

Furthermore, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes between the Syrian army soldiers and armed militants near the Eastern Qalamoun and Eastern Ghouta regions on the outskirts of Aleppo.

Separately on Sunday, a roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying militants near Homs, killing three of them.

An unnamed source at Syria’s Ministry of Electricity also said that a terrorist attack targeted a gas line that feeds al-Nasseriye power station in the city of Jayrud in Damascus countryside, causing the power station to go out of service.

Oil sales are the largest source of income for Daesh terrorists. Turkey stands accused of buying crude from the Takfiri group in an illegal trade.

Last year, Syrian forces, backed by Russian air raids, repeatedly targeted the main routes used by Daesh to deliver oil to Turkey, inflicting heavy losses on the terrorist organization’s illegal crude trade.

The Syrian army troops and allied fighters have been fighting against different terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the Arab country since 2011, and have made sweeping gains against Takfiri elements.

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