Islamic State militants have killed at least 30 people, including children and women, in a government-held village in central Syria, a monitoring group says.
Some of the victims in Mabouja were burned to death or beheaded, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The state news agency, Sana, said at least eight people were killed, as soldiers repelled a terrorist attack.
Mabouja's population include members of the minority Alawite and Ismaili Muslim sects, which IS considers heretical.
In recent weeks, the jihadist group has mounted numerous attacks in government-held areas in the central provinces of Homs and Hama, where Mabouja is located.