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| Russian Strikes in Syria Hit Area of Suspected Massacre | Russian Strikes in Syria Hit Area of Suspected Massacre |
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| BEIRUT, Lebanon — Russian airstrikes hit Islamic State militants Tuesday in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, in the village where the extremist group had been accused of massacring as many as hundreds of people over the weekend, the Russian military said. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — Russian airstrikes hit Islamic State militants Tuesday in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, in the village where the extremist group had been accused of massacring as many as hundreds of people over the weekend, the Russian military said. |
| The strikes, which Russia said had killed at least 60 militants, came as intense fighting continued for a fourth day around the provincial capital, and a resident described seeing bodies of government soldiers who had been hanged, and truckloads of corpses. | The strikes, which Russia said had killed at least 60 militants, came as intense fighting continued for a fourth day around the provincial capital, and a resident described seeing bodies of government soldiers who had been hanged, and truckloads of corpses. |
| “I saw a couple of Islamic State vehicles carrying bodies from regime areas,” said the resident, who opposes both the Islamic State and the government of President Bashar al-Assad and works undercover inside the Islamic State. “They were full of beheaded bodies.” | “I saw a couple of Islamic State vehicles carrying bodies from regime areas,” said the resident, who opposes both the Islamic State and the government of President Bashar al-Assad and works undercover inside the Islamic State. “They were full of beheaded bodies.” |
| Deir al-Zour, a province whose capital, also called Deir al-Zour, is under siege by the Islamic State, is one of the most remote parts of Syria, making it difficult to assess conflicting accounts that emerged over the weekend. What the accounts agreed on was that during and after bloody clashes, the Islamic State had carried out a wave of killings in the outskirts of the contested city, where, the United Nations says, the extremist forces are besieging 200,000. | Deir al-Zour, a province whose capital, also called Deir al-Zour, is under siege by the Islamic State, is one of the most remote parts of Syria, making it difficult to assess conflicting accounts that emerged over the weekend. What the accounts agreed on was that during and after bloody clashes, the Islamic State had carried out a wave of killings in the outskirts of the contested city, where, the United Nations says, the extremist forces are besieging 200,000. |
| The Syrian state news media said the Islamic State had killed 300 civilians in the village of al-Bghailiye. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group in Britain, said the militants had killed 85 civilians there, in addition to some 50 pro-government fighters, and had taken 400 civilians hostage. | |
| But the Syrian Observatory reported Tuesday night that the Islamic State had released 270 hostages, including children younger than 14 and men and women older than 55, who had been captured in Bghailiye. | But the Syrian Observatory reported Tuesday night that the Islamic State had released 270 hostages, including children younger than 14 and men and women older than 55, who had been captured in Bghailiye. |
| Also on Tuesday, Deir Ezzor 24, a monitoring site run by the antigovernment activist Omar Abu Layla, said that in the nearby town of Al Bulayl, Russian warplanes had killed 12 civilians, including two children. | |
| Analysts said the Islamic State had probably attacked government positions in Deir al-Zour to compensate for losses on other fronts and financial woes that forced it to cut salaries. | Analysts said the Islamic State had probably attacked government positions in Deir al-Zour to compensate for losses on other fronts and financial woes that forced it to cut salaries. |
| Inside government-held districts of the city of Deir al-Zour, basic foodstuffs have become unaffordable, and people cannot leave without paying bribes, said another resident, a government supporter whose son died last year fighting in the army. He said aid recently dropped by Russian cargo planes had not reached him, and he complained that despite his sacrifice, no one had offered rescue. | Inside government-held districts of the city of Deir al-Zour, basic foodstuffs have become unaffordable, and people cannot leave without paying bribes, said another resident, a government supporter whose son died last year fighting in the army. He said aid recently dropped by Russian cargo planes had not reached him, and he complained that despite his sacrifice, no one had offered rescue. |
| Because his son served in the army, “the whole family is on the Daesh wanted list,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. “The government is leaving people to their destiny.” | Because his son served in the army, “the whole family is on the Daesh wanted list,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. “The government is leaving people to their destiny.” |