Scottish Catholic Observer

Islamic extremists in the Syrian city of Raqqa have crucified two men and killed a further five in a revenge attack on rebels.

The extremists who were representatives of the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL) claimed that the men were responsible for the death of some of their members in a supposed grenade attack.

ISIL posted on twitter about the attack and took responsibility for the crucifixions.

“Ten days ago, attackers on a motorbike threw a grenade at an ISIL fighter at the Naim roundabout,” the group said on social media. “Muslim civilian had his leg blown off and a child was killed. Our fighters immediately set up a roadblock and succeeded in capturing them. They were then able to detain other members of the cell.’

Photographs of the execution were also posted online by the British based group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the photographs clearly show two prisoners crucified by a roundabout, one of the men is pictured with a banner around his body that states: ‘This man fought against Muslims and threw a grenade in this place.’

Abu Ibrahim Alrquaoui, who is the founder of the group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, witnessed the executions first hand, he said that the men who were executed were rebels that had previously fought against the Syrian government.

“It’s very dangerous,” he said. “They threaten us directly and want to kill us.”

ISIL have ruled over Raqqa for over a year, where they have attempted to quell the support for the rebels by slowly wiping them out. “They want to stay in control. Everything they do is to scare people,” Alrquaoui said. “That’s why they kill people publicly.”

This has not been the first time that ISIL has carried out public executions. On April 16 a man was executed in a similar fashion for theft. They also have performed public executions in the town of Tal Abyad and Saluq. ISIL has been forced out of much of Northern Syria but remain highly entrenched in Raqqa, which is the only provisional capital that is outside of government control.

Last week ISIL took responsibility for a series of explosions in Iraq, that went off during the elections which killed 28 people and injured more than 40.