http://www.dpa-international.com/news/international/seventeen-executed-by-jihadists-in-syrias-palmyra-a-45293034.html
Beirut/Paris(dpa) - Islamic State jihadists have executed 17 people after seizing control of the historic Syrian city of Palmyra, a monitoring group said Thursday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some of the 17, whose numbers included pro-government fighters and regime supporters, had been beheaded. The killings bring the total number of executions over Islamic State's week-long offensive in Syria's central desert to 66, the Britain-based group said.
The jihadist group took control of the Syrian side of Al Walid Tanef crossing in Homs province, the last crossing which connects the country with Iraq, a monitoring group said. "Syria lost its last crossing with neighbouring Iraq after regime forces withdrew from the area," the head of the group, Rami Abdel Rahman, said.
The crossing is near the westernmost point of Iraq's Anbar province where the borders of Iraq, Syria and Jordan meet.