ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least 535 civilians are believed to have been kidnapped and killed by Islamic State (ISIS) militants on Sunday in the Syrian city of Deir al-ZourZour. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the civilians were abducted in areas from northeast of the city. Around 135 people were reportedly killed in the assault, among them 50 pro-government fighters and 85 civilians. "The civilians were taken from the suburb of Balighia and other areas in the north-west of the city, and moved towards the IS stronghold of Raqqa," the Observatory's report read. "All of those abducted are Sunni Muslims." Syrian state media put the number of the dead at 300. Syrian government forces responded to the ISIS assault with heavy artillery bombardment. Russian fighter jets were said to have taken off to bomb ISIS positions in and around the city and drop humanitarian aid for the trapped civilian population. The Observatory group added that 60% of Deir al-ZourZour is now under ISIS control.
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