DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — The Islamic State (ISIL) fighters shot dead 15 people, injured 70 others during a rally in a Palestinian camp on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, one of the camp's leaders Sheikh Anas said Sunday.
"15 people were killed, including the Free Syrian Army fighters, who were guarding the rally. Seventy people received bullet wounds and shell fragment injuries," Anas told RIA Novosti.
The ISIL militants have gained control over large areas of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus since Wednesday. The camp is currently an epicenter of violent clashes between the ISIL and other Syrian rebel groups.
Yarmouk is home to about 18,000 refugees, including some 3,500 children, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
It has been struggling with a humanitarian crisis, being under siege by the IS militants since late 2012.
The ISIL group, notorious for flagrant human rights abuses, has seized large territories in Syria and Iraq, proclaiming strict Sharia law on lands under its control.
