IS executes rival Islamists in Syria

Cairo, Aug 15 (IANS/EFE) The jihadist Islamic State (IS) has executed nine members of rival Islamic groups in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Thursday.

The IS jihadists slit the men's throats and severed their heads after occupying Akhtarin town in Syria's northern Aleppo province, which was seized Tuesday following clashes with other rival Islamist groups, Efe reported.

The jihadists gained control over the villages of al-Masudiya, al-Aziziya, Dubiq, al-Gour, Turkoman and Akhtarin after the withdrawal of the Al Nusra Front, the Al Qaeda affiliated group in Syria, and other armed Islamist factions.

At least 40 members of the rival militias and 12 IS militants were killed in the clashes.

The IS also stoned to death one of its members after he raped a young displaced girl from Deir al-Zur city, SOHR said.

The IS controls al-Raqa and a large part of Deir al-Zour, where various tribes and armed groups have sworn allegiance to the group, which has proclaimed an Islamic Caliphate in the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria.

--IANS/EFE

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