A new report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights today reports that fighting in the Homs Province has left ISIS in control of the Jazal oilfield, the last field which had still been under Syrian government control. Jazal is northwest of Tadmur.
The Syrian Army confirmed fighting in the area, but claimed only to have killed 25 rebels, not specifying who they were or admitting to any territorial losses in the incident. Jazal had already been shut down because of the proximity of ISIS forces.
For a once massive oil-exporter, this is just the latest in a string of major losses, which has left them with only a fraction of the country’s territory, and with very limited energy resources, a problem which makes their ongoing civil war look all the worse.
Making matters even more grim for Syrian forces, the loss of Jazal puts ISIS even closer to the nation’s major natural gas field, and adds to concerns that ISIS could be putting the military on the brink of collapse with their recent territory losses.