Syrian forces seize major oil, gas fields in eastern Syria

Syrian troops fighting U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces seized the Omar oil field, the country’s largest, and the Conoco gas field in the eastern Deir Zor province as allied Arab tribal forces advanced in the oil-rich area along the border with Iraq, officials and security sources said on Sunday.
The takeover of the oil fields that lie east of the Euphrates River was a major blow to the group, which officials said had deprived the state of resources used by the militia.
The Syrian army pressed ahead into predominantly Arab-populated areas of northeast Syria controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), despite U.S. calls to halt its advance.
A government source said Kurdish-led forces were overcome after advances led by the Arab tribal fighters, allowing the government and its tribal allies to move into a stretch of territory of more than 150 km along the eastern bank of the Euphrates stretching from Baghouz near the Iraqi border towards key towns including al-Shuhail and Busayra.