Syrian troops recapture key gas field in Homs

The Syrian troops on Thursday recaptured a key gas field in the central province of Homs after battles with the Islamic State (IS) militants, according to the state news agency SANA.
The troops recaptured the al-Shaer gas field and the surrounding hills a week after the IS fighters captured that strategic site alongside other gas wells from the government troops in the eastern countryside of Homs.
A day earlier, the army units recaptured the al-Muher and Hajjar gas fields in eastern countryside of Homs, said SANA, adding that the troops killed 20 militants near the Hayan gas field in the eastern part of Homs.
The recaptured gas fields are important as they feed the city of Homs and the capital Damascus with the necessary gas for generating electricity in both provinces and the southern Syrian areas in general.
The IS, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, has self-proclaimed an Islamic Caliphate in areas striding Syria and Iraq.
It has also succeeded in capturing almost all of the oil fields in the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria on the borders with Iraq.