Damascus, Dec 5 (IANS): The Islamic State (IS) radical group has claimed it has taken control of a village near a key government airbase that it now plans to target in the province of Deir ez-Zor in Syria.

IS Thursday claimed it was advancing towards the strategic military base, located just outside of the provincial capital, which has long been used by government forces to launch air raids, Al Jazeera reported.

IS militants uploaded a video on social media purportedly showing the armed group in control of the Al Jafra village.

Gaining control of the area and surrounding the base is also important to access its rich oilfields, which has been fought over since the country's conflict began in 2011.

Another main target of IS in the region is a large weapons depot.

IS currently has control over most of Deir-ez-Zor, including the provincial capital, but the Syrian government has maintained control over some parts of it.

Losing the strategic airbase could be a major blow to government forces in the province.