Syria conflict: 230 bodies 'found in mass grave' in Deir al-Zour

The bodies of more than 230 people believed to have been killed by Islamic State (IS) have been found in a mass grave in eastern Syria, the BBC reported, citing activists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they were thought to be members of a tribe that fought the jihadist group in Deir al-Zour province in the summer.

The mass grave was discovered after the tribe, the Sheitat were allowed to return home by IS leaders, it added.

Last month, the UN said it had received reports of a massacre there in August.

Investigators said it appeared to have been perpetrated by IS in a struggle for control of oil resources near the town of Mohassan.

One survivor described seeing "many heads hanging on walls while I and my family escaped," while locals saw several freshly-dug mass graves.

Video published online also indicated that IS fighters had conducted mass beheadings of fighting-age Sheitat tribesmen.

The footage shows men mocking the victims before they are executed and is even reported to include the killings of injured men who are believed to have been forced out of hospital before they were decapitated.

The killings were reported to have taken place after negotiations between the two sides broke down, with Sheitat tribal elders refusing to give their allegiance to IS.