Syria loses airbase to Islamist State

BBC:

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..

State TV confirmed that government forces had "evacuated" the airbase. Days of fighting there have reportedly killed hundreds on both sides.

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.
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After setbacks in Iraq because of US airpower and Kurdish fighters, the Islamic religious bigots appear to be concentrating their efforts in Syria where they are trying to keep a strategic corridor open to Turkey where most of their fighters are now transiting and where they are buying supplies.  So far the US has not done much of strategic import in Syria although it did conduct a special ops mission in a failed attempt to free hostages.