Islamic State conflict: Deadly strike on Syria refinery

Video posted by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently purportedly showing fireball in sky after air strike on oil refinery outside Tal Abyad, Syria (8 March 2015)

9 March 2015 BBC MidEast

At least 14 people have been killed in US-led coalition air strikes on an oil refinery in northern Syria run by Islamic State (IS), activists say.

Refinery workers and jihadist militants were among those who died in the raid on the facility outside Tal Abyad. One activist group posted a video purportedly showing a fireball rising into the night sky after the attack. Captured refineries and oil fields have played a key role in fuelling Islamic State's advance across Syria and Iraq. Last year, the group may have earned as much as $100m (£66m) from the sale of oil and oil products to local smugglers who, in turn, sell them to the Syrian government and merchants in neighbouring countries. However, US officials say the group's ability to use oil as a source of revenue is now believed to be diminishing due to the air strikes.

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