Syrian farmers fear IS to flood villages near Euphrates

Syrian farmers near the Euphrates river are terrified the Islamic State group will literally open the floodgates to defend its stronghold Raqa, drowning their tiny villages in the process.

Water levels of the Euphrates, which snakes down through northern Syria and east into Iraq, have shot up over the past month near the jihadist group's de facto capital, Raqa city.

Residents of the modest farming villages scattered on the river's eastern bank say they are afraid the jihadists will destroy the Tabqa dam, Syria's largest, to slow advancing anti-IS forces.

"If IS goes through with its threat of blowing up the Tabqa dam, then all areas around the southern part of the river could be under water," said Abu Hussein, 67.

He spoke to

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)