A mass grave holding 230 bodies was uncovered in Deir Ezzor province. Those killed, including many civilians, were members of the Shaitat tribe, which had resisted the Islamic State. The US conducted six airstrikes in Syria since Dec. 15; five near Kobane and one near Abu Kamal. Only about three percent of all airstrikes in Syria by the US-led coalition since the start of the campaign have not been conducted by the US. SOHR estimates that more than 120,000 regime fighters have been killed in the Syrian war. The UN is looking for $8.4 billion to aid Syrian refugees in 2015. Two Kurdish freelance journalists have been reported kidnapped by the Islamic State “on December 15 on the main road between Qamishli and Al-Yarubyia.”
