Syrian forces seize major oil, gas fields

Syrian troops fighting US-backed Kurdish-led forces seized the Omar oil field, the country’s largest, and the Conoco gas field in the eastern Deir Zor province as allied Arab tribal forces advanced in the oil-rich area along the border with Iraq, officials and security sources said yesterday.

The takeover of the oil fields that lie east of the Euphrates River — a main source of revenue for the Kurdish-led forces — was a major blow to the group, which officials said had deprived the state of resources used by the militia.

The Syrian army pressed ahead into predominantly Arab-populated areas of northeast Syria controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), despite US calls to halt its advance.

A government source said Kurdish-led forces were overcome after advances led by the Arab tribal fighters, allowing the government and its tribal allies to move into a stretch of territory of more than 150 km along the eastern bank of the Euphrates stretching from Baghouz near the Iraqi border towards key towns including al-Shuhail and Busayra.