IS claims downing Syrian military helicopter in Homs

The Islamic State (IS) claimed to have downed a Syrian military helicopter in the countryside of the central province of Homs on Tuesday.

The IS affiliated news agency, Amaq, said its fighters shot down the helicopter over the town of Huwaysis in the eastern countryside of Homs.

The terror-labeled group took control of the town early this month, following battles with the Syrian troops, who have reportedly withdrawn to the nearby Jub al-Jarah area, which is only a few kilometers from the city of Homs and considered the eastern gate to that city, Syria's third largest.

The report comes as intense battles raged on Tuesday between the Syrian army and the IS militiamen in the vicinity of the T4 airbase east of Homs, near the ancient city of Palmyra.

The battles around the T4 airbase were coupled with airstrikes on the IS fighters who were trying to advance, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the IS managed to take control of an abandoned military outpost near the airfield.

Meanwhile, the IS news agency said that the IS militants killed 20 Syrian soldiers, including two officers, during the battles in the vicinity of T4.

Syria's state-run SANA news agency said the Syrian Air Force struck several IS positions in the countryside of the ancient city of Palmyra, which the Syrian forces recaptured last March after falling to the IS in May of 2015.