IS Seizes Most Of Refugee Camp In Syria

Islamic State militants have seized control of most of a refugee camp the Syrian capital, according to witnesses and local officials.

Witnesses said that violent clashes are continuing in the Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus.

Yarmouk was once home to around 160,000 Palestinian refugees, before many fled to escape the violence of Syria's civil war.

Throughout the four-year conflict, the camp has been caught up in fighting between government troops and insurgent groups, such as al Qaeda's Nusra Front, which are opposed to the regime.

The area has been besieged by forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad for more than a year.

Only 18,000 residents are now thought to remain in the camp, which is suffering from severe food and water shortages.

A Palestinian official in the Syrian capital said: "Fighters from IS launched an assault (on Wednesday) morning on Yarmouk and they took over the majority of the camp".

The IS extremists have established strongholds in northern and eastern Syria, but taking control of Yarmouk would put the terror group within reach of the regime's base in Damascus.

Jordan has temporarily closed its main land crossing with Syria due to the violence across the border.

Before the war, hundreds of trucks everyday crossed the frontier carrying goods to and from Turkey and the Gulf states.