国际英语新闻:Syrian army retakes key gas field from IS in central Syria

DAMASCUS, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Syrian army captured the Hayan gas field in central province of Homs, following battles with the Islamic State (IS) militants, pro-government al-Watan online newspaper said Tuesday.

The capture of the gas field came automatically after the Syrian forces took the al-Muher area in the eastern countryside of Homs, where several oil and gas fields are located.

The IS seized Hayan and other fields in eastern Homs when they captured the ancient city of Palmyra in December of last year.

The condition of Hayan is still unknown as the IS announced last month that it had blown it up.

Earlier this month, the IS also said it detonated pipelines around Hayan.

With daily production of three million cubic meters of gas, Hayan field is the largest facility feeding electricity in central and southern Syria.

The facility's establishment cost the government over 280 million euros (about 297 million U.S. dollars).