ISLAMIC State (Isis) fighters captured a major military air base in north-eastern Syria late on Sunday, eliminating the last government-held outpost in a province otherwise dominated by the group.
Tabqa airfield — home to several warplane squadrons, helicopters, tanks, artillery and ammunition bunkers — is the third military base in the area to fall since last month.
Those victories are part of an aggressive push by Isis to consolidate its hold on northern and eastern provinces, while also expanding the boundaries of its self-styled caliphate straddling the Syria-Iraq border.
The group launched a long-anticipated offensive last week to seize the sprawling Tabqa facility.
After several failed efforts to breach the walls, Islamic State fighters managed to punch through and storm the air base on Sunday.
Government warplanes carried out waves of air strikes to try to beat back the attack, but ultimately proved unable to stem the assault.