Syrian activists: Islamic State group kills 33 men in Syria

The group says it’s not clear who the men were and whether they were Syrian troops or rebels.
(Representational image)

Syrian activists say the Islamic State group has killed 33 young men in eastern Syria, close to the border with Iraq.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says IS members slit the throats of the men, aged between 18 and 25, near the town of Mayadeen in Deir el-Zour province on Wednesday. The group says it’s not clear who the men were and whether they were Syrian troops or rebels.

Opposition activist Omar Abu Laila, who is from Deir el-Zour but currently lives in Europe, also reported the killing. IS has carried out similar killings in Syria this year. When it controlled the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, IS carried out public beheadings, including of the antiquities chief whose body was hung from a pole in a main square.