Heavy clashes have been going on in the southern city of Adra between extremist militants liked to al-Qaeda and Syrian army soldiers, Al Alam correspondent Mazin Salmo said Saturday.

The town, with a population of 20,000, was captured by militants from the Al-Nusra Front and the Jaysh al-Islam, following fierce fighting with country’s army forces.

An army commander told Salmo that militants had taken thousands of people as hostage and located them at the border areas of the town to hinder army attacks.

He said the army is currently working on plans to enter the town and push out terrorists.

According to Arabic language al-Haghigha website some 1,000 to 1,500 militants entered the town on Wednesday and started massacring people, some of them family by family, at their arrival.

Those who were lucky to flee the town have been describing unprecedented levels of atrocities committed by the extremist militants who attacked their town to kill.

It is not clear how many people have exactly been killed since Wednesday in Adra, but a report by the Russia Today said at least 80 people were executed.

The war in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of Western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

According to the United Nations, more than 120,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria for over two years.

SHI/SHI