By 20 May, Islamic State (IS/ISIS) had seized control of Palmyra in Homs Province.
According to unconfirmed reports, more than 400 people were executed over the next four days. By late May, Assyrian and Kurdish fighters, backed by the Syrian Arab Army, had made gains in Hassakeh Province, northeastern Syria, thanks in part to US-led coalition airstrikes. According to Father Emanuel Youkhana, who heads the Christian Aid Programme in Northern Iraq, ‘all the villages along the Khabur River have been liberated’.
