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Islamic State releases 270 of 400 civilians abducted in east Syria

The group is now in control of 60 per cent of the city and has tightened its siege around it by capturing surrounding towns.

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Elaborating in a second interview with AFP news agency, Abdel-Rahman said the remaining captives would be questioned, and “if IS sees that they have no ties to the Syrian government, they will take a religious course and will be released”.

According to the Guardian, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that the Islamic State has announced its intention to reduce its members’s wages by half.

“Food and vegetables are rare, and we’re starting to have problems with bread”, he added.

The Observatory said Wednesday that over 3,000 people had been killed in the strikes so far, including 1,015 civilians.

“If the city falls there will be a massacre”, Attiyeh said.

Dozens were also killed in the weekend raid on government held-areas, according to the monitoring group.

Another seven were killed in fighting with the extremists, the monitor said.

Resident Ghaleb al-Haj Hamdo, 23, told AFP that explosions from nearby clashes could still be heard in the city on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Syrian government maintains a stronghold at a military airport and parts of the city.

In an update published just before the attacks, OCHA said landmines lined the roads leading out of Deir Ezzor and that a majority of inhabitants are surviving on bread and water.

“We fear for the safety of the remaining group of prisoners; and we still do not know for sure if there are still women in captivity”, Observatory leader Rami Abdel-Rahman told German news agency DPA.

The military spokesman also said Russian Federation had delivered 50 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the besieged city of Deir Ezzor on Friday.

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More than 260,000 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict, which erupted almost five years ago with anti-government protests.

In besieged Syrian city, hungry residents sell gold for food