Syria: Islamic State militants attack government airbase in eastern Syria
Islamic State militants launched an attack overnight on a major military air base in eastern Syria in what looked to be a push to eliminate the last significant government outpost in the extremist-dominated region, activists said Thursday.
The airfield just outside the city of Deir el-Zour is a key military facility for President Bashar Assad, giving his warplanes a hub from which to bomb IS-held cities and towns across much of eastern Syria. For the Islamic State group, capturing the airport would eliminate the main pocket of resistance in the area and provide a major morale and propaganda boost after a string of setbacks in recent weeks.
The assault against the air base began under the cover of darkness with a suicide car bombing against a Syrian military position on the airfield’s outskirts, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“They are trying to take the airport,” said Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman. “This is a bigger attack from IS.”