The extremist Sunni jihadist group that declared a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq has seized control of one of Syria’s most important oil fields after rebel fighters from other factions switched their allegiance to support it.
In a crucial strategic advance for Islamic State, the organisation that is tearing Iraq apart, anti-government rebels in Syria who had been loyal to the rival Jabhat al-Nusra switched sides - handing over the Al-Omar oilfield, which has the potential to produce up to 75,000 barrels of oil per day.
The development represents a huge step up for the Islamic State in its struggle against al-Nusra, which is backed by al-Qaeda but regards the new grouping as dangerously extremist.
It means that the caliphate proclaimed by the Islamic State now controls a stretch of Syria from the town of Deir al-Zour in the middle of the country to Abukamel on the Iraqi border. Within neighbouring Iraq, to the east, it holds the cities of Mosul and Tikrit, has free rein in Anbar province and is threatening to attack Baghdad. » | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, July 03, 2014
