Fourteen people were slaughtered with knives at the hands of unidentified assailants in the Maadan area in the northern Raqqa countryside, which is under the control of Syrian regime forces and allied militias.
Local networks, including the Euphrates Post, said on Sunday, that 14 people were discovered slaughtered with knives at the hands of unknown assailants while they had been herding sheep in the Maadan area in the Raqqa countryside.
No group has claimed the incident yet, but people close to the victims said on Facebook, that the Islamic State had attacked the area.
Parts of Raqqa province are under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) while regime forces control the Maadan and Tabqa areas in the northern Raqqa countryside. The regime has not commented on the incident so far.
Seven civilians from the al-Naimi tribe were previously killed at the hands of fighters said to have been from the Syrian regime when they raided the village of Dibsi Afnan in the southern Tabqa countryside with the aim of committing armed robbery in August, according to the local news networks including Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently.
The network said at the time that a group of 20 fighters in military uniform from the Syrian regime forces had raided the Sheikh Jassem al-Naimi village and executed seven civilians from the village when they tried to defend themselves, after they handcuffed them. The fighters then stole sheep and other possessions such as cars and gold and wheat.
Syrian regime forces carried out major advances in the southern Raqqa countryside in 2017 at the expense of the Islamic State, which had controlled the province since 2014, and had it as its main stronghold until it was recaptured by the SDF in 2017 with backing by the International Coalition.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
