A militant of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant holds an ISIL flag and a weapon in the city of Mosul. Photo: Alalam

(VOVworld)- Fighting in Iraq intensified Tuesday as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) occupied the town of al-Bukamal in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that after seizing Al-Bukamal, ISIL intended to occupy al-Shahel, an important town of al-Nusra, on the outskirts of Deir al-Zour province. Situated in a strategic position in the border between Syria and Iraq, Al-Nusra has a huge oil reserve. ISIL currently controls a large area, stretching from Nineveh and the area west of al-Anbar to the suburb of Aleppo in northern Syria. Last Sunday ISIL declared the establishment of a "caliphate" aiming to topple the current governments of Iraq and Syria.