Syrian government officials denied on Tuesday that Islamic State militants captured an oilfield, which a monitoring group reported had been seized from government forces a day earlier. Talal al-Barazi, governor of Homs Province, was quoted by Al-Watan newspaper on Tuesday as saying that IS insurgents had seized five positions in the area of the Jazal Oilfield on Saturday, but these had since been recovered by the Syrian Army, Reuters reported. A Syrian military official said: "They tried to take some positions but the attack failed." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, reported on Monday that the Jazal Oilfield near the ancient city of Palmyra had fallen to the extremists, saying it was "the last oilfield that remained in state control". IS captured Palmyra in May. The observatory reported late on Monday that clashes continued near the oilfield. The facility has been shut down after the government evacuated employees.
