Syrian army recaptures key gas fields in Homs

Damascus:The Syrian troops have wrested back control over key gas fields in the country's central province of Homs after battles with the Islamic State militants ( IS), state media and activists reported.

The army units recaptured the al-Muher and Hajjar gas fields in eastern countryside of Homs, Xinhua reports Wednesday citing state media, adding the troops killed 20 militants near the Hayan gas field in the eastern part of Homs.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported about the military recapture of the aforementioned gas fields, adding the troops also captured the Hayan gas company, which was seized by the IS last week.

The recaptured gas fields and company are important as they feed the city of Homs and the capital Damascus with the necessary gas for generating electricity in both provinces and the southern Syrian areas in general.

The Syrian army is still pushing to capture the al-Shaer gas field, which is also a key gas field near al-Muher and Hajjar fields.

The IS captured al-Shaer last week along with other gas fields in eastern Homs, which resulted in increasing hours of electricity outages in the capital, where people are complaining about a 10- hours outage on daily basis.