BEIRUT: Syrian regime forces launched an offensive on Saturday to retake a gas field in Homs province seized two days ago by militants who killed 270 people, most of them executed, a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that a woman accused of adultery was stoned to death by Islamic State (IS) militants in the northern city of Raqa, in the second such case in as many days.
Regime forces backed by warplanes pressed a counter-attack on Saturday around Shaar, recapturing large areas of the gas field, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
"They are advancing in Shaar and have managed to regain large parts of it, while trying to control surrounding areas that fall under the control of the Islamic State," he said.
"Regime forces are conducting air raid and clashes are taking place on the ground," he added.
The counter-attack had killed at least 11 soldiers while 10 other troops were wounded, said the Observatory which relies for its information on a network of activists and medics on the ground.
It described Thursday's takeover of the Shaar field as the biggest anti-regime operation by the IS since the militants group rose to prominence last year among rebel groups in the Syrian conflict.
The watchdog said it had documented "the deaths of 270 people killed in the fighting or executed" by the militants. "A large majority of the men killed were executed at gunpoint after being taken prisoner following the takeover of the camp," said Abdel Rahman.
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