Warning - there was an unexpected script error. Application may not work as expected.</s>Damascus, July 18: The Syrian army backed by heavy Russian air strikes seized seized new oil fields in the desert in the southwest of Raqqa province on Monday in push against retreating IS militants.

The Syrian army said that they had taken al Daylaa oil field alongside the Zamla gas field in large stretches of territory, Xinhua reported.

The army added they taken control of Wahab, al Fahd, Dbaysan, al-Qseer, Abu al Qatat and Abu Qatash oil fields and several other villages in the desert area that lies in the southwest of Raqqa province.

Most of Syria's oil fields are mainly located in the northeastern province of Hasaka which is the hands of Kurdish YPG militia and also in Raqqa province where the militants have been losing large swathes of territory.

The army's capture last week of the major Hail gas field northeast of the ancient city brought them 18 km to the south of Sukhna.</s>BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army supported by Iranian backed militias seized new oil fields in the desert in the southwest of Raqqa province on Monday in new advances against retreating Islamic state militants.

The Syrian army said on state media they had taken al Daylaa oil field alongside the Zamla gas field in large stretches of territory the militant group have been pulling out of in recent weeks to defend their remaining possessions in Syria.

On Saturday the army said they taken control of Wahab, al Fahd, Dbaysan, al-Qseer, Abu al Qatat and Abu Qatash oil fields and several other villages in the desert area that lies in the southwest of Raqqa province.

Most of Syria's oil fields are mainly located in the northeastern province of Hasaka which is the hands of Kurdish YPG militia and also in Raqqa province where the militants have been losing large swathes of territory to advancing U.S. backed forces now battling them inside Raqqa city.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian army, supported by Iranian-backed militias from Iraq and Lebanon, was now on the edge of the Bushra chain of mountains, a main militant hideout 55 km west of Deir Zor city.

State media said Russian jets also bombed the area around Sukhna town further south, which is the gateway to the eastern province of Deir al-Zor that borders Iraq and likely to be the militants' last major bastion in Syria if Raqqa falls.

The army's capture last week of the major Hail gas field northeast of the ancient city brought them 18 kms to the south of Sukhna.

On Monday, an army statement said they had captured key areas west of Sukhna and killed scores of Islamic State militants as they steadily advanced towards the town whose capture would ease the path towards Deir al Zor.</s>Children walk at a camp for displaced people who fled fighting in the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa, in Ain Issa, Syria, on Friday (Reuters file photo)

BEIRUT — The Syrian army backed by heavy Russian air strikes seized a string of oil wells in southwest Raqqa province on Saturday, as retreating the Daesh terror group militants battle to defend their remaining territory in the country.

State-owned Ikhbariyah television quoted a military source as saying the army had taken control of Wahab, Al Fahd, Dbaysan, Al Qseer, Abu Al Qatat and Abu Qatash oil fields and several other villages in the desert area that lies in the southwest of Raqqa province.

The seized oil fields lie south of the town of Rasafa and its oil wells, which the army took last month from the militants in their first major territorial gains inside the province.

The army and Iranian-backed militias have in the last few months been advancing east of Aleppo city and seizing swathes of territory west of the Euphrates River that militants have pulled out of to defend their de facto capital of Raqqa, where they are now battling US-backed troops inside the city.

The latest gains tighten the army's grip on a bulge of territory stretching from eastern Hama province to eastern Homs and the edge of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

The monitor said the Russian air force intensified its strikes on several targets and towns held by the militants in the area including Uqairbat, a target of Russian cruise missiles fired from warships in the Mediterranean at the end of May.

The army's next goal is to retake the town of Sukhna, a gateway to the eastern province of Deir Ezzor that borders Iraq and likely to be the militants' last major bastion in Syria if Raqqa falls.

The army and its Iranian-backed allies have also announced in the last few days steady gains in the desert northeast of the ancient city of Palmyra with their capture of the Hail gas field that brought them almost 18km south of Sukhna.

Heavy fighting has ‘however’ continued in the last 48 hours near Hail and the nearby Arak gas field that the Syrian army took last month, both the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and extremist websites said.

The army and Iranian-backed militias have been engaged in a campaign since May to fill the void left by the retreat of militants in areas they once controlled in the vast eastern Syrian desert that stretches all the way from central Syria to the south eastern border with Iraq and Jordan.

In the southeastern desert, heavy fighting continued between the army and its Iranian backed allies on one side and the Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels in the rugged eastern countryside of the city of Sweida in southern Syria.

The army said it had captured most of these areas that are also near the border with Jordan, while the rebels said they had inflicted losses on Lebanon’s powerful Hizbollah group and Iraqi Shiite militias.</s>Fatalities reported among warring Kurdish-led group and ISIL fighters as heavy bombardment shakes Old City.

Heavy bombardment and fierce fighting continue to shake the Syrian city of Raqqa, as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group defend their stronghold from advancing US-backed forces.

Bursts of gunfire and artillery as well as the thud of air strikes conducted by the US-led coalition filled the air in western neighbourhoods of Raqqa on Monday, in what AFP news agency described as the heaviest day of bombardment to date.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said 11 ISIL fighters have been killed in the clashes since Sunday, while the ISIL-linked Aamaq news agency said 14 SDF fighters were killed in the fighting in Raqqa on Sunday alone.

As the fighting continues, thick pillars of black smoke dotted the city skyline, lined with bombed-out concrete homes and the damaged minaret of a mosque.

"Our American friends are bombing with mortars," an SDF fighter told AFP after a string of blasts near the front line in western Raqqa.

The Kurdish-led group has been pressing an operation to capture ISIL's stronghold since last year with coalition air support and the backing of a US Marines artillery battery.

AFP reported that US coalition forces at a joint position with SDF fighters, in Jazra suburb on the western outskirts of the city, have been firing artillery in the direction of ISIL posts deeper inside Raqqa.

"The operation is continuing but there are many fierce clashes," an SDF spokesman named Ahmed said, speaking in the town of Ain Issa, 50km north of Raqqa.

"We are taking steady and sound steps. What is important to us is not speed, but liberating civilians and eliminating Daesh (ISIL)."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory Observatory for Human Rights also reported progress in the Old City's southwestern neighbourhood, adding that an estimated 35 percent of Raqqa is now under SDF control.

Progress inside Raqqa has been hampered by extensive mining of neighbourhoods, which has slowed advancing SDF fighters and also had devastating consequences for civilians trying to flee.

The intensification of fighting comes a week after Iraqi forces declared victory against ISIL in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the largest stronghold the fighters have held.

The loss of Raqqa would deal a major blow to ISIL, but the group still holds wide areas of the Syrian eastern province of Deir Az Zour, bordering Iraq.

The Kurdish-run Hawar news agency said some 180 civilians were able to flee areas controlled by ISIL, while the Observatory put the number in the hundreds.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said a steady stream of civilians was fleeing ISIL-held districts.

"Whenever there is a lull in the fighting, they leave towards areas held by the SDF," he said.

The SDF on its social media accounts said Monday its forces "managed to free about 500 civilians who were trapped inside the Al-Daraiya and Al-Tayar neighbourhoods, as well as 150 others from the Old City" inside Raqqa.

The United Nations estimates that up to 50,000 civilians remain trapped inside the city, down from some 100,000 people at the end of June.

The SDF began an operation to capture Raqqa in November 2016 and spent months taking territory around the city before finally entering it.

More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011.</s>Syrian government forces have swept across the territory south of Islamic State group stronghold Raqqa, capturing a string of villages and oil fields from the jihadists, state media said. The landscape south of Raqqa city strategically borders several provinces, Aleppo to the west, Homs to the south and Deir ez-Zor —much of which is still held by IS—to the east.

State news agency SANA said that the government loyalists had scored significant gains against IS in the area. “Over the past two days, army units recaptured a number of villages and oil fields in western parts of Deir ez-Zor province and southern parts of Raqqa,” the agency said. It added that “dozens” of IS vehicles had been destroyed and that a number of jihadists, including some foreigners, had been killed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said today the government advance was backed by heavy Syrian and Russian airstrikes. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of SOHR “Regime forces have captured between 1,500 and 1,800 square kilometres in Raqqa province over the past 48 hour.” He went on to add that troops were approaching the strategic region of Jabal al-Bishri, a mountain chain straddling parts of Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Homs provinces. “If the regime captures it, it can take control of all those areas,” Abdel Rahman said.

Since 2014, Raqqa city has served as the de facto capital of the caliphate’s territory in Syria, and US-backed fighters are currently battling jihadists inside the city. Rival Syrian government troops have also chipped away at IS fighters in the border province.

Last month, regime forces targeted the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces alliance west of Raqqa. The Pentagon downed a Syrian jet in retaliation. More than 330,000 people have been killed since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:55 P.M.) – Minutes ago, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) scored another important victory in northern Syria, liberating an Islamic State (ISIL) controlled oil field in the Al-Raqqa Governorate.

Led by their elite Tiger Forces, the Syrian Arab Army began the day by storming the Al-Fahd Oil Field and nearby Al-Fahd Oil Station; this would result in a fierce battle with the Islamic State terrorists in southern Al-Raqqa.

Finally, by the late afternoon, the Syrian Arab Army was able to impose full control over the Al-Fahd Oil Field and Oil Station, forcing the remaining Islamic State terrorists to retreat south.

With the liberation of the Al-Fahd Oil Field, today, the Syrian Arab Army has liberated at least a half dozen oil fields from the Islamic State’s grip this week.
The Syrian army seizes oil wells in south-west Raqqa Governorate from ISIL.