The Syrian army killed 140 Islamic State (IS) fighters on Thursday and reports indicated that the incident happened near an airbase in al- Raqqa, Syria's northern province.

The Islamic fighters were in al-Tabaqa airbase, which was attacked by Sunni militants that began this week.

The Syrian army's goal was to strip IS of its control over the al-Raqqa area.

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Clashes commenced week after the IS had seized Brigade 93 and Division 97 - two key military positions.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organization, the encounter has been prevailing for over the past 24 hours in which Islamic State fighters bombed the airbase' perimeters with suicide cars. It took place before dawn that opened a surprise assault in the facility.

Experts from the Observatory said the army backed its soldiers with 15 airstrikes and added that seven soldier casualties during the latest fire encounters.

Formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, IS has said it has already destabilized Syria and Iraq regions by establishing an "Islamic Caliphate."

A caliphate is an Islamic state led by a political leader or a supreme religious leader. Caliphates are also referred to succession of Muslim empires in the Muslim world. Conceptually, it denotes a sovereign state of the Muslims.

IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi they will set up an Islamic State both in Syria and Iraq. The group aims to fight the Iraq's central government and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

TagsSyrian Army kills 140 IS Fighters in An Ambush, ISIS, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights