ISIS militants kidnapped at least 400 civilians when they attacked government-held areas in the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday, a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday families of pro-government fighters were among those abducted.
Syrian Observatory for Human RightsAfter their attack on Deir Ezzor (on Saturday), ISIS abducted at least 400 civilians from the residents of the Al-Baghaliyeh neighborhood it captured and adjacent areas in the northwest of the city.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said earlier that at least 300 people had been ‘killed’ in the attacks in Deir al-Zor.
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.
A source close to the Syrian government side said on Saturday that some of those killed had been beheaded.
Those among the abducted are senior citizens, women, children and army officials. They have reportedly been transported to other areas under ISIS control.
Rami Abdul Rahman, Observatory chiefThose abducted, all of whom are Sunnis, include women, children and family members of pro-regime fighters.
The state media has denounced this as a ‘massacre’.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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