Islamic State has killed '400 people' including women and children in Palmyra

Syrian state media reported on Sunday that the Islamic State group has killed at least 400 people, including women and children, since capturing the ancient city of Palmyra four days ago. Reuters states that it is currently impossible to verify the reports from Syrian state media, but civil activists also claim that the group has executed several individuals since taking over Palmyra. The Islamic State group captured Palmyra on Wednesday, just days after seizing the city of Ramadi in Iraq and following heavy fighting with Syrian army forces. This city, with a population of fifty thousand, is home to one of the largest and best-preserved monuments of ancient Rome and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The capture of these two cities marks the Islamic State group's biggest victory since last summer and raises doubts about the effectiveness of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition against the group. The group declared its self-styled caliphate last year after seizing vast territories in Iraq and Syria. In many cases, after capturing cities, they have quickly executed numerous individuals and destroyed ancient artifacts they consider symbols of idolatry in their controlled areas. Syrian state media reported, citing residents of Palmyra, that 'the terrorists killed more than 400 residents of Palmyra, including women and children, on the pretext of these individuals collaborating with the government or disobeying the group's orders, and they dismembered their bodies.' According to Syrian state media, most of those executed were government employees, including one hospital official and his family members. Reuters adds that supporters of the Islamic State group have released videos online claiming that the group's fighters searched all government buildings for soldiers and removed pictures of Bashar al-Assad and his father from the walls. Independent activists in Palmyra also report on social media that hundreds of bodies of individuals believed to be loyal to the Syrian government have been found in the streets of the city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain and collecting evidence of the war in Syria through a network of activists, states that several executions and beheadings have occurred since the capture of Palmyra, but it has not yet gathered an exact figure for civilian casualties. The group reported that around 300 Syrian soldiers were killed during the battles for Palmyra, with many more missing and their whereabouts unknown. The Islamic State is the strongest Sunni militant group fighting against Bashar al-Assad's government. The Syrian civil war has left around 250,000 dead over the past four years and displaced more than eight million people. Western governments and their Arab allies have bombed the Islamic State's positions while supporting other militant groups fighting the Syrian regime. Syrian government forces have lost parts of their controlled areas in recent months. On Sunday, conflicting reports emerged regarding the fate of a strategic point in Idlib in northwestern Syria. Since April, a group of Syrian soldiers has been besieged in a hospital in this province. Syrian state media claimed on Sunday that over 300 rebels were killed during the breaking of the siege. However, the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group fighting the Syrian government in these areas, claims that government forces have fled from this point. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights states that at least 260 government forces, including 80 Syrian army officers, have been killed in the past month. The highest-ranking military official killed was General Mohi al-Din Mansour, commander of the Syrian army's special forces. Reuters concludes that the Syrian government has lost control of much of this province since late March and the fall of the city of Idlib to rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported separately that on Sunday, a Syrian army general and six of his guards were killed in an explosion in Damascus, for which a Sunni extremist group claimed responsibility.