Moments ago, shock troops of the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) Tiger Forces recaptured the al-Mahl hill and thus fully secured the al-Mahl oil and gas fields.

Some reports incorrectly suggested that the Islamic State seized the al-Mahl oil field a few days ago; nevertheless, ISIS fighters did in fact capture the al-Mahl hill which is situated directly west of the oil field.

With the oil rich al-Mahl area firmly under the control of the Syrian Armed Forces, government troops will now look to recapture the Al-Sha’ar oil field which was captured by ISIS last week.

These Islamic State attacks in eastern Homs are seemingly retaliation for the SAA capturing the nearby ancient city of Palmyra in late March, 2016.

Furthermore, ISIS’ advances on the oil rich areas northwest of Palmyra have caused the Tiger Forces to regroup, thereby halting rapid government advances east of Palmyra en route to besieged Deir Ezzor.

Although government troops have made no significant progress towards the al-Sha’ar region just yet, commander-in-chief Suheil al-Hassan is expected to launch an assault towards the ISIS-held oil field shortly.