Observatory: ISIS Executed Scores in Syria’s Qaryatayn

The highway leading from the Syrian capital Damascus to Homs, Mahmoud Taha / AFP / August 3, 2017
The highway leading from the Syrian capital Damascus to Homs, Mahmoud Taha / AFP / August 3, 2017
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Observatory: ISIS Executed Scores in Syria’s Qaryatayn

The highway leading from the Syrian capital Damascus to Homs, Mahmoud Taha / AFP / August 3, 2017
The highway leading from the Syrian capital Damascus to Homs, Mahmoud Taha / AFP / August 3, 2017

ISIS killed at least 128 people it accused of collaborating with the Syrian regime in al-Qaryatayn this month before losing the central Homs town to Bashar Assad’s forces, the Observatory for Human Rights said Monday.

ISIS has over a period of 20 days executed at least 128 people in reprisal killings, accusing them of collaboration with regime forces, the Britain-based monitor said.

Regime forces retook al-Qaryatayn on Saturday, three weeks after the terrorist group seized control of it.

ISIS had first occupied the town in August 2015 and relied on the strategically located town to defend another of their bastions, the historic city of Palmyra. But the terrorist group lost al-Qaryatayn to Russian-backed Syrian forces last year.

"After the regime retook it (on Saturday), the town's residents found the bodies on the streets. They had been shot dead or executed with knives," the head of the Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman said.

He said what happened in the town was a "massacre."

"Most of the ISIS militants who attacked the town a month ago were sleeper cells... They are from the town, know the town's residents and who is for or against the regime," he said.

The majority of those killed were executed in the last two days before the extremist organization lost the town again, Abdel Rahman added.

There was no immediate comment from the regime in Damascus on the find of the civilian bodies in al-Qaryatayn.



Milei Says Argentina to Move Israel Embassy to Jerusalem in 2026

 Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Milei Says Argentina to Move Israel Embassy to Jerusalem in 2026

 Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Argentine President Javier Milei said Wednesday his country would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the status of which is one of the most delicate issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

"I am proud to announce before you that in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of west Jerusalem," Milei said in a speech in the Israeli parliament during an official state visit.

Argentina's embassy is currently located near the coastal city of Tel Aviv.