DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – A Syrian field commander on Sunday refuted earlier reports claiming that Islamic State (ISIL) also known as Daesh jihadist group had abducted some 400 people near the city of Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria, in a comment to Sputnik.
Earlier in the day, Al Mayadeen TV channel said that Daesh militants killed 280 people in the village of al-Bughailiyeh near Deir al-Zor. According to other reports, the jihadists kidnapped over 400 civilians, including women and children, from the village following the mass killings.
"The reports on kidnappings of civilians from the village are untrue," the field commander said.
Since 2014, Daesh militants have seized vast areas in Syria, as well as Iraq, and have declared a caliphate under the rule of Sharia law in territories they control. The group has forced thousands of people, mostly religious minorities including Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims, to flee their homes.
Since late September, Russia has been conducting an aerial campaign in Syria against the Daesh extremist group, which is outlawed in Russia, following a request from President Bashar Assad.
