Syria conflict: Isis 'overruns' Raqqa military base

Raqqa province has long been a stronghold for
Isis militants, here seen with a captured tank
Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant (Isis) say they have overrun a large Syrian
military base on the outskirts of the city of
Raqqa.
The Islamist fighters have released images of
captured soldiers being beheaded after the battle
for the base.
The Syrian army did not confirm that the base
had fallen, but said it was organising a counter-
attack.
Isis already controls much of Raqqa province, and
recently seized a swathe of territory in
neighbouring Iraq.
The group, which has changed its name to Islamic
State, describes the territory under its control in
Iraq and Syria as a caliphate.
The Raqqa base, manned by Division 17 of the
Syrian army, is said to have been captured
overnight after coming under siege from Isis
fighters.
In June, Isis fighters celebrated their declaration
of a caliphate with a rally in Raqqa
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights, a group that monitors casualties
in the conflict, the assault on the base began with
two suicide car bomb attacks. Meanwhile, Syrian
army helicopters attacked Isis positions around
the base.
Scores of Isis fighters and government soldiers
were killed or hurt in the attack, the group said.
The base is the largest of its kind in north-
eastern Syria, and is said to be well-stocked with
weapons and ammunition.
Intensifying clashes
Rivals to Isis within the Syrian opposition had
pointed to the lack - until now - of major
confrontation over the base, close to the Isis
stronghold of Raqqa, as a sign of collaboration
between government forces and the militants.
However, BBC Arabic correspondent Rami
Ruhayem says this narrative has been falling
apart in recent weeks as clashes between Isis
and the Syrian army have intensified.
The militants recently captured a gas field in the
central province of Homs, in an attack that killed
more than 200 people.
At least 170,000 people have been killed, a third
of them civilians, since the start of the uprising
against President Bashar al-Assad.
Some nine million people, or a third of Syria's
pre-war population, have fled their homes.
http://bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28481283