Activists say Syrian rebels capture oilfield in country's east after 3-day battle with regime
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Activists say Syrian rebels have captured an oilfield in the country's east after three days of fierce fighting with government troops protecting the facility.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' chief Rami Abdul-Rahman says rebels overran the al-Ward oilfield in the province of Deir el-Zour near the border with Iraq on Sunday.
Omar Abu Leila, an activist in the area, says the field was still functioning until shortly before the rebels seized it.
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Syria exported some 150,000 barrels of oil a day before European and U.S. imposed sanctions last year.
In 2010, Syria earned $4.4 billion by selling oil to EU countries alone. Oil was the main source of hard currency for the regime until the sanctions took effect.