Local sources reported kidnapping 3 shepherds and killing dozens of sheep, by unknown gunmen, south of Al-Raqqa, on Monday.

And the local "Al-Khabour" news network reported that unidentified gunmen kidnapped 3 shepherds and killed 80 sheep, in As-Sabkha desert, in the southern countryside of Al-Raqqa.

According to the opposition Radio al-Kul sites, the countryside of Al-Raqqa witnessed similar incidents during the last months and years, the most recent of which was last August, when armed men attacked sheep shepherds in Al-Rusafa desert in the western countryside of Al-Raqqa, killing two shepherds, and stole the cattle.

Activists accuse the regime forces and Iranian militias of being behind the killings and looting, given that most of these crimes occurred and were repeated in areas under the control of the regime forces and their supporters.