Islamic State (IS) militants stormed an air base in northeast Syria today (August 24, 2014), capturing it from government forces after days of fighting that cost more than 500 lives, the Reuters website reports.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 346 Islam State fighters were killed and more than 170 members of government forces had died since August 19 in the fight over Tabqa base, making it one of the deadliest confrontations between the two groups since the start of Syria's civil war more than three years ago.
The Observatory -- which monitors violence in Syria through sources on the ground -- said fighting raged inside the air base today. It was the Syrian army's last foothold in an area otherwise controlled by Islamic State, which has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq in recent months.
In nearby Raqqa city -- an IS stronghold -- there was celebratory gunfire and several mosques announced through their loudspeakers that the base had fallen to the Islamists and cheered "God is greatest," a witness told Reuters. IS fighters displayed the severed heads of several Syrian army soldiers in the city square, the witness said.
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