Islamic State captures Iraqi town, purges opponents in Syria's Palmyra

BAGHDAD — Islamic State militants have seized another town in Iraq's western Anbar province less than a week after capturing the provincial capital, a tribal leader said Friday, while in neighboring Syria the group's fighters killed dozens of pro-government forces in the ancient town of Palmyra.

Islamic State fighters combed Palmyra, detaining and killing dozens of people two days after seizing the town, which is home to one of the Middle East's most famous archaeological sites, activists and officials said.

Homs-based activist Bebars al-Talawy and an opposition Facebook page said that as many as 280 soldiers and pro-government forces have been killed in Palmyra since it was captured Wednesday.

Al-Talawy said militants abducted soldiers and pro-government gunmen from homes, shops and other places where they had gone to hide. He added that many were shot dead in the streets.

He said Islamic State fighters used loudspeakers warning residents against sheltering troops, leading many to come forward to give information about forces that had melted into the civilian population.

Read Saturday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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