Coalition airstrikes kill 13 IS fighters in Syria's border town

DAMASCUS, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-led anti-terror coalition launched multiple airstrikes on Wednesday, and killed 13 Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria's eastern city of Bukamal on the borders with Iraq, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

The attack came as the Syrian troops were also marching against the IS in southern Deir al-Zour near the main military airbase, the main lifeline of the government troops in that oil-rich province.

The TV report said the Syrian troops captured the town of Dughaim near the Deir al-Zour airbase on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the local al-Shuaitat tribesmen in Deir al-Zour found a mass graveyard containing tens of bodies of their fellows executed by the IS fighters.

The IS had stormed the areas of the Shuaitat tribe and committed massacres against its people for refusing to surrender.

The terrorist group has captured large chunks of Deir al-Zour over the past months, stripping the government troops of almost all of the oil and gas plants in that key province.

The crisis has become even more complicated when some radical groups are seeking to cash in on the chaotic situation in order to achieve territorial gains.

Over 190,000 Syrians were killed so far, while millions of others sought refuge in neighboring countries.

Source http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-12/18/c_127313944.htm