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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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31Aug14
Islamic State militants eye airbase in Syria's Deir al- Zour
Islamic State militants have been fighting intense battles in recent days against the Syrian government troops in the vicinity of the military airbase of the country's eastern province of Deir al-Zour, a week after the radical militants captured a key airbase in al-Raqqa province, activists and media reports said Sunday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS militants were fighting intense battles to control the Deir al-Zour airbase, adding that the radical militant group has called for reinforcement to storm the facility.
The military airbase of Deir al-Zour is located about 10 kilometers east of Deir al-Zour and about 153 kilometers from the al-Tabaqa airbase, which was recaptured by the IS last week in al- Raqqa.
The Deir al-Zour airbase is one of Syria's 28 military and civilian airports, and around 1,500 Syrian soldiers are stationed there, according to the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.
The 20-kilometer airbase with a three-kilometer runway is sometimes used for civilian flights. The airbase can accommodate 50 war jets but its runway can only contain 26 Mig 21 fighter jets.
After the IS recapture of the al-Tabaqa airbase, the Syrian air force moved the evacuated personnel and war jets to Deir al-Zour's airport, according to al-Mayadeen.
The airport is deemed crucial for the IS as it is one of the most important bases of the Syrian army in the oil-rich Deir al- Zour, which is used by the Syrian air force to strike the IS positions in Deir al-Zour.
The IS and like-minded groups have recently focused their attacks to capture airbases in northern and eastern Syria as parts of its tactic are to consolidate their positions in the war-torn country. The radical rebels have captured considerable number of Syrian airbases in the last couple of years.
The state media recently said that the air force is targeting IS positions around a military airbase in the northern province Idlib.
Maher Murhej, a Syrian opposition figure, told Xinhua Sunday that the IS poses a regional and international threat, adding that the "IS is now planning to capture airports which are located in Syria's Hasaka, al-Raqqa and Deir al-Zour."
"The IS fighters are seeking at this stage to capture the Syrian airbases which are in areas under their control in order to later use them in their battles against the Syrian government forces," he said, adding that after the downfall of the al-Tabaqa airbase, the IS is working feverishly to seize control of the Deir al-Zour one.
Murhej pointed out that the IS intensified their battles against the Syrian airbases in northern and eastern Syria after the endorsement of the recent UN Security Council resolution on battling the IS influence in Iraq and Syria.
The Islamic State, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, has recently proclaimed to establish an " Islamic Caliphate" in parts of Syria and Iraq, threatening the political geography in the region.
The group, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who is said to be commanding over 70,000 fighters, claimed their goal is to establish an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria instead of shunning aside expanding more into other Arab countries.
[Source: Xinhua, Damascus, 31Aug14]
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