ISIL Group 'Executes 700' in Syria


ISIL Group 'Executes 700' in Syria

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group executed 700 members of a tribe it has been battling in eastern Syria during the past two weeks, the majority of them civilians, a monitoring group said.

The killing spree happened in several villages inhabited by the al-Sheitat tribe in Deir Ezzor province, where the tribe are from, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Observatory said many of the victims, who were Sheitat tribesmen, were beheaded after they were captured by the ISIL group, Al Jazeera reported.

Among the members of the Sheitat tribe killed were 100 fighters, but the rest were civilians, the group reported.

The men were killed in the Ghranij, Abu Hamam and Kashkiyeh villages of the mainly ISIL-controlled province of Deir Ezzor, according to the Observatory, which relies on a vast network of activists and medics on the ground for its information.

Observatory head, Rami Abdel Rahman, said that the fate of 1,800 other members of the tribe was unknown.

On Saturday, the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) called on the United States and its allies  to conduct air strikes in Syria against the ISIL group, similar to those being carried out against the same group's positions in neighboring Iraq. 

During a press conference in Turkey SNC leader, Hadi al-Bahra, accused the international community of double standards.

"The silence of the international community is unbelievable," he said. "There is no excuse for them to keep a blind eye on what is happening in Syria. We have reports supported by documents and videos that crimes in Deir Ezzor against humanity are being committed by ISIL on a daily basis".

Gruesome videos have surfaced online purporting to be of the beheadings in several Sheitat villages. The footage showed men laughing and mocking the victims by mimicking goats as they performed the executions. 

Some of those killed were said to be injured men who had fought against the ISIL group. Reports suggested the ISIL fighters dragged the men from the nearby Hujein hospital and the New Medical Center in neighboring Mayadeen City before cutting off their heads.

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