ISIS abducts 400 Syrian civilians after massacre in province of Deir al-Zor
Islamic State militants kidnapped at least 400 Syrians, including woman and children, when they attacked in Deir al-Zor to gain new territory.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said families of pro-government fighters were among those abducted in the government-held areas.
A Syrian Civil Defence worker carries a child wrapped in a blanket over the rubble in Deir Ezzor. Photo: AFP
"After their attack on Deir Ezzor yesterday, IS abducted at least 400 civilians from the residents of the Al-Baghaliyeh suburb it captured and adjacent areas in the northwest of the city," SOHR said.
"There is genuine fear for their lives, there is a fear that the group might execute them as it has done before in other areas," the Observatory's head Rami Abdulrahamn said.
Deir al-Zor is the main town in a province of the same name.
The province links Islamic State's de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa with territory controlled by the militant group in neighbouring Iraq.
There is genuine fear ISIS might execute the kidnapped group of civilians. Photo: AFP
Syria's state news agency SANA said earlier that at least 300 people, including women and children, had been killed during the attacks in Deir al-Zor, but it made no mention of people getting kidnapped.
Syria's government condemned the killings which it described as a "horrific massacre against the residents of Begayliya in Deir al-Zor".
A source close to the Syrian government side said that some of those killed had been beheaded, the reports have not yet been verified
The group, in control of most of Deir al-Zor province, has laid siege since March on remaining government-held areas in the city.
Residents are facing severe food shortages and sharply deteriorating conditions.
Of those under siege in the city, 70 percent are women and children, and many have been displaced from their homes elsewhere and are living in temporary shelters.
History of mass murders
A man walks past a banner reading "Pray for Deir Ezzor" at the migrant camp known as the "Jungle" in Calais. Photo: AFP/Philippe Huguen
The IS assault puts the group in control of around 60 percent of Deir al-Zor city, which is capital of the surrounding province of the same name, an oil-rich region that borders Iraq.
The jihadist group already controls most of the province, but regime forces have clung onto part of the city and a neighbouring air base despite repeated IS attacks.
If confirmed, the death toll in the assault would be one of the highest in a single attack by IS, though the jihadists have carried out mass murders before.
A general view shows a deserted street filled with debris of damaged buildings in Deir al-Zor. Photo: Reuters
Rebels drive through the eastern Syrian town of Deir al-Zor. Photo: AFP/Ahmad Aboud
Syrian regime forces fire towards Islamic State group jihadists in the northern province of Aleppo. Photo: AFP/George Ourfalian
In 2014, its fighters killed hundreds of members of the Sunni Shaitat tribe in Deir al-Zor province after they opposed the jihadists.
And in August 2014, the group massacred some 200 Syrian soldiers when it overran the Tabqa military base in Raqa province.
The jihadists have also carried out mass abductions before, seizing more than 200 civilians from central Homs province in August 2014, and at least 220 Assyrian Christians from villages in the northeast of the country months earlier.
Some of those abducted in those incidents have been freed in small batches, in some cases reportedly in exchange for ransoms.
The assault came despite a Russian air campaign that began in September in support of the government, which Moscow says targets IS and other "terrorist" groups.
More than 260,000 Syrians have been killed since the conflict began in 2011 with anti-government protests.
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