The Syrian government launched an air attack on an eastern Syria town controlled by the jihadist linked ISIS, according to the Associated Press Saturday.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the government launched six airstrikes on the town of Muhassan Saturday in the oil-rich, eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The town located on the Euphrates River has been in the control of the the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a jihadist opposition group operating in both Syria and Iraq.
At least 16 people were killed in the strikes, including three civilians, according to the Observatory.
In related news, ISIS also allegedly killed three officers from the Free Syrian Army rebel group, according to another Agence France Presse report Saturday.
The bodies of the officers from the Western-backed opposition faction were found Friday in the eastern Deir Ezzor province where they were kidnapped two days earlier by ISIS militants.
The Free Syrian Army has been fighting ISIS since earlier this year in the eastern province, but lack of funding has hurt the rebel groups' strength against the jihadists. In mid-June, nine FSA soldiers resigned in protest of funding shortages and lack of necessary military aid and supplies from donor countries.
At least 6,000 people have been killed in the fighting between the rebel and jihadist factions since the start of the year, according to Al Arabiya News report.
