Syria conflict: Islamic State 'seizes' Tabqa airbase

The fighting damaged areas around the Tabqa airbase, such as Tabqa hospital

Fighters from Islamic State (IS) have taken control of a key Syrian government airbase, activists say.

The Tabqa airbase was the last remaining stronghold of Bashar al-Assad's government in Raqqa province.

Syrian state TV confirmed that its forces had "evacuated" the airbase but said they had now regrouped and were conducting airstrikes.

More than 191,000 people have now been killed in the three-year-old Syrian conflict up to April, the UN says.

IS, formerly known as Isis, has expanded its reach into large parts of eastern Syria and northern Iraq in recent months.

The US has launched limited airstrikes against the group in Iraq but has not targeted them in Syria.

'Heavy fighting'

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group with opposition ties, said clashes around the airbase were ongoing but added that the base was under IS control.

Syrian state television confirmed that government troops had lost control of the base.

"After heavy fighting by the forces defending the Tabqa airbase, our forces implemented a regrouping operation after the evacuation of the airbase," it said.

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The base lies around 45km (30 miles) outside Raqqa city, the main powerbase of IS, and is believed to hold dozens of warplanes, helicopters, tanks and artillery.

Analysts say the fall of the base is a significant blow for the Syrian government's ability to project air power into the north of the country.

Syrian government forces have used the base to attack targets in the north

IS fighters have steadily taken over several government military bases in Raqqa province in recent weeks, including the Division 17 base just outside Raqqa town.

In a separate incident, Syrian government forces killed 32 rebels in an ambush in Deraa in southern Syria, activists said.

State media confirmed the attack, and said tens of fighters had been killed.

Opposition groups in Syria have been fighting President Bashar al-Assad since 2011.

Tens of thousands of women and children are among those who have been killed in Syria's civil war