Islamic State executes six in Syria

Cairo, Aug 11 (IANS/EFE) The jihadist Islamic State (IS) has executed six men in several towns under its control in the northeastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Monday.

The SOHR said the extremists on Sunday decapitated two members of the Al-Shuaitat tribe who had sought refuge in Al-Shaefa, east of Deir al-Zour, after the towns of Abu Hamam, Al Kishkia and Garanish fell to the rebel forces.

The IS has given a 12-hour deadline to Al-Shaefa residents to hand over all members of the Al-Shuaitat tribe, which has been fighting the insurgents over the past months.

The IS Sunday executed two other men who were crucified in Al-Mayadin after they were accused of renouncing their faith, and two more in Al Bulil for allegedly "insulting God and trampling on the Koran".

The jihadists on Aug 7 shot dead at least 19 people in the desert of Deir al-Zour, in one of the biggest mass executions carried out by the IS.

The rebels control 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.