At least 116 killed in a Daesh massacre in Syria

[OyaYansa]

"During the 20 days that Al Qaryatayn controlled, the terrorist group executed these civilians accused of collaborating with the regime's troops," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

The Daesh group "executed at least 116 civilians" in a city in central Syria before being expelled from Syria on Saturday by troops from Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported Monday.

"During the 20 days in which Al Qaryatayn controlled, the Islamic State (EI) executed at least 116 civilians in retaliation, accusing them of collaborating with the troops of the regime of Bachar el-Asad," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of OSDH. "After recovering the city located in the province of Homs, the inhabitants found corpses in the streets, the houses and other places," Rahman said. "Some were killed with white guns, others shot," he added.

According to OSDH sources, the vast majority of the victims died in the last two days before the jihadists were forced to leave Al Qaryatayn. The EI group had again taken on 1 October this locality, which has a Christian minority and several churches. Some were vandalized by jihadists. The ultrarradical organization had captured the city for the first time in August 2015. Less than a year later it was expelled.

According to the OSDH, the regime regained the city on Saturday, "after more than 200 members of EI were withdrawn, in the direction of Badiya," the great desert of the center of the country. The EI has suffered major setbacks for months, both in Syria and in neighboring Iraq. An alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters has just taken its "capital" in Syria, Raqa. In Syria the fighting continues in the province of Deir Ezzor (east) separated in two by the river Euphrates and border with Iraq.