ISIL 'recaptures' areas from Syrian forces in Raqqa

ISIL lost about 14 percent of the territory it held in 2015

ISIL fighters launch counter-offensive in northern province of Raqqa, retaking large areas they recently lost.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has recaptured large areas of territory in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa that it recently lost to forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists have said.


The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday that ISIL forces had pushed government forces some 40km from Tabqa, an area west of Raqqa city that has a dam and an airbase.

Government troops and allied militiamen had reached within 7km of the airport on Sunday, according to the observatory.