Civilian bodies found in town ISIS occupied

Syrian activists and government officials said they found at least 65 bodies of civilians in the central town of Qaryatayn after government troops on Saturday seized the town from Islamic State (ISIS). Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of the killings occurred when ISIS seized the town for three weeks. The activist Palmyra Coordination Committee published the names of the dead and said at least 35 of them had gunshot wounds and were found dumped in a shaft. Talal Barazi, governor of the Homs province where the bodies were found, said the search and documentation is still ongoing. U.S.-backed Syrian forces on Friday declared the former ISIS capital city of Raqqa free of militants and have continued to close in on the extremist group. The Syrian Democratic Forces on Sunday captured the country’s largest oil field from ISIS. The Central Military Media on Monday said Syrian government troops were closing in on the frontier town of Boukamal, the last major ISIS stronghold in the country.