Toll in IS massacre in Syria rises to 52

Beirut, April 1: At least 52 people were killed on Tuesday during an offensive launched by the Islamic State (IS) in al-Mabouja, a Syrian village in the central province of Hama, Efe news agency reported citing the latest count by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Wednesday. Among the victims, at least 45 were civilians, including two children and seven women. They were beheaded, burned or shot dead by the jihadis.

Additiolly, among the fatalities were seven supporters of the Syrian regime, who were killed in the clashes that erupted after IS militants entered the village, where people from Sunni, Alawite and Ismaili sects live together.

The SOHR said several people have gone missing, and it was unknown whether they had escaped or were abducted by the IS.

The IS carried out the massacre on Tuesday on al-Mabouja, located in eastern Hama, but government forces eventually thwarted the IS advance.

The IS declared in late June of 2014 the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” in areas under its control in both Iraq and Syria. (IANS)