Militants of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) executed a number of people in Syria’s northeastern province of Raqqa, rights activists and eyewitnesses reported on Sunday.
ISIS has reportedly slaughtered eight young men in the Mansoura district west of Raqqa.
Rights activist Nadeem Mahmoud said that ISIS extremists shot eight young men dead, and crucified their bodies on electricity poles on the highway of Mansoura near the Rusafa citadel in Raqqa.
During the execution, ISIS closed all the roads leading to the Mansoura district on Sunday.
A member of the local at-Taakhi organization for human rights told Kurdish News that most of the victims were residents of al-Hatil village, where the Arab clan of al-Bukhamis constitutes a majority.
“The victims have been detained for nearly a year, before the group decided to execute them on Sunday,” the source reported, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He added that three of the executed men were former members of ISIS and tried to desert its ranks, “but they were arrested before they flee Raqqa province.”
Another four men have been charged with violating ISIS regulations in Raqqa, and were among those executed and crucified on Sunday, according to the source.
The organization also reported that ISIS militants have executed another person in the roundabout of Dalla in Raqqa downtown on charges of spying for the US-led coalition forces.
An ISIS member from the "Sharia Court" read a statement before conducting the execution, explaining the reasons for their execution without revealing the victims’ identities, eyewitnesses told Kurdish News.
Two weeks ago, ISIS militants executed six people in the city of Manbij in Aleppo province on charges of spying and violating the group’s regulations, and five others were executed on charges of ‘drug trafficking’. The group posted pictures of the victims online.
Over the past two years, ISIS has publicly executed hundreds of civilians, activists, and journalists on various charges in areas under its control across Syria and Iraq;
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