Damascus, Sep 4 (IANS) As many as 15 people were killed by the Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria Wednesday, media reported.

The IS militants stopped a passenger bus in Syria’s eastern province of Deir al-Zour, killing 15 passengers mostly women and children, Xinhua reported citing state-run SANA news agency.

The victims belonged to the al-Shuaitat tribe of the Deir al-Zour region.

For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights contradicted the state media’s account, saying the passenger bus was hit by a Syrian air strike, adding that the town of Shoula in Deir al-Zour is under the IS control.

The IS militants and the al-Shuaitat tribesmen have been deadlocked in deadly clashes as al-Shuaitat was one of the few tribes that stood against the IS in the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zour.

The IS has emerged as the most powerful among other radical groups in Syria, with its goal is to establish an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria and expanding more into other Arab countries.

The UN Security Council has recently agreed on a resolution aiming to stop the flow of cash and fighters to the IS, which opens the door for military means in case the resolution fails to be implemented.

Top Syrian officials stressed recently that the Syrian government is ready to cooperate with the superpowers on fighting terror as long as such powers respect the sovereignty of Syria and coordinate their actions with the Syrian government.