Islamist rebels claim they have seized Syria's largest oil field, potentially cutting off President Bashar al Assad's supply of almost all local crude reserves.
If confirmed, the loss of the al-Omar oil field in the eastern Deir al-Zor province could leave Assad's military forces relying almost entirely on imported oil in their campaign to crush the rebel uprising.
It came as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 29 deaths following regime air strikes in northern Aleppo, including 14 people who were killed in the city's eastern district of Tariq al-Bab.