Clashes Between ISIS and Rival Groups for Control of Palestinian Camp Near Damascus

According to a human rights organization, militants from the Islamic State group (ISIS) clashed with rival fighters to control the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk on the outskirts of Damascus and establish a foothold near the capital of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Reuters reports that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain and receiving reports from its sources in Syria, stated that ISIS fighters captured most of the Yarmouk Palestinian camp on Wednesday, marking their first foothold near the Syrian capital, an area previously controlled by other rebel groups. The Observatory noted that the ISIS assault was effectively halted by the resistance of rival Islamist militants, leading to street fighting. The group known as the Islamic State controls a vast area of eastern Syria and Iraq. In recent months, the U.S. and coalition forces have targeted this group's positions with airstrikes. The Observatory added that during the past five days of clashes with the Syrian army and other rebel groups across the country, ISIS executed 69 people, including children and women. The group provided video footage of the execution of nine men by gunfire, claiming several were killed on suspicion of collaborating with the Syrian government. The Observatory indicated that most of these executions occurred in Hama province in western Syria, which has fallen under Islamic State control. The Yarmouk Palestinian camp was home to half a million Palestinian refugees before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Located just a few kilometers from downtown Damascus, the camp has been under the control of anti-Assad forces and besieged by government troops since the early days of the conflict. The United Nations expressed deep concern for the safety of Palestinian and Syrian citizens residing in the camp, estimating that most residents have fled, with the current population now close to 18,000. Syrian government officials were unavailable on Friday to confirm these reports.