ISIS fighters MASSACRE 'up to 300' people in Syria bloodbath

And now ISIS militants have kidnapped a further 400 civilians after seizing part of the city last night.

Head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdulrahman said:"After their attack on Deir Ezzor, IS abducted at least 400 civilians…of the Al-Baghaliyeh suburb it captured and adjacent areas in the northwest of the city."

Many of the victims are believed to be women, children and the elderly.

The bloodbath is said to have produced one of the highest death tolls in the war-torn country in a single day over the past five years.

A government source said ISIS "committed a massacre among the civilians."

Syrian state media reports suggest that at least 300 people died in the atrocity.

But activists say the death toll is around 135 - although they conceded dozens had been killed.

Mr Abdulrahman added: "We have 60 people confirmed killed, but the number is big.

"The details are hard to get so far but the deaths are in dozens."

At least 35 soldiers and pro-regime fighters are said to be among those who died during the savage killings.

But more than 40 ISIS fighters are also believed to have been wiped out in the attack.

Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi told Sana news agency that the "legal and moral responsibility for this barbaric and cowardly massacre ... lies on the shoulders of all the states that support terrorism."

(The Daily Star)