Mothers of missing soldiers in Raqqa plea rebels to mediate with IS

(Zaman Alwasl)- The trauma of Tabqa airbase fall last Sunday by Islamic State group has been continued with tens of pleas by mothers and families of missing Syrian army soldiers who believed to be held captives by IS, which controls swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Zaman Alwasl has received tens of pleas calling on Free Syrian Army battalions and other Islamist groups to mediate with IS to release the captive soldiers.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 320 Syrian troops were killed and missed by the fall of Tabqa airbase. Activists said the number may reach 700 soldiers.

The airbase at Tabqa, some 40 km (25 miles) east of the city of Raqqa in northeast Syria, before its fall had represented the government's last foothold in an area controlled by IS.

Now, IS has taken four Syrian military bases in Raqqa province.

The hardline group on Wednesday posted online first images and footage of  al-Tabqa airbase.

Dozens of slain soldiers and officers of Syrian army were massing on the scorched ground.

The show-off photos reveal the mounting power of IS which uses the same tactics of regular armies in war and engagement.

IS fighters were seen carrying heads of regime’s soldiers who were killed. The Islamic State beheaded the soldiers in a move seen by many people to terrify those who oppose or even think to oppose the Islamic State, according to the Observatory.

On Tuesday, the Syrian Network for Human Rights said in new report that Members of IS had shot, beheaded and crucified 3473 people, mostly Syrians, since the group appeared in Syria in 2013.

 According to the report, 782 of killings were civilians, including 138 children and 139 women, 2691 were from Free Syrian Army, Islamic battalions, Syrian regime army and Kurdish troops.

By now, the number of IS fighters has passed 50,000 in Syria, including 20,000 non-Syrians, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

In relevant development, pro-regime activists’ rage has been sparked through social media, demanding   oust of Defence Minister.

‘Tafah al- Kail’ (Overfull) is a hashtag circulated by Assad’s cyber activists, expressing their fears and concerns.

Activists have dubbed regime’s Defence Minister, Fahd Jassem al-Freij, as death minister, saying everyone involved in the dramatic losses should be held to accountability.

Meanwhile, At least 191,369 people have been killed in Syria's conflict through April, more than double the figure documented a year ago and probably still an under-estimate, the United Nations human rights office said.