‘Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebel group captures key oil field’
Activists says Jabhat al-Nusra fighters are in control one of Syria’s largest oil fields, near the Iraqi border
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BEIRUT — Syrian activists say a rebel group with links to Al-Qaeda has captured one of the country’s largest oil fields.
Rami Abdurrahman, who is director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra captured the al-Omar field in the eastern Deir el-Zour province along the border with Iraq on Saturday, ousting government troops during an overnight battle. There was no confirmation from President Bashar Assad’s government.
Before the uprising against Assad’s regime began in early 2011, the oil revenues provided around a quarter of the funds for the government budget. Since the revolt turned into a civil war over the past year, exports have ground practically to a standstill, and Assad’s government has been forced to import refined fuel products.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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