ISIS crucifies 9 men in Syria's Aleppo: NGO

BEIRUT: ISIS in Syria has publicly executed and crucified nine men, eight of them rebels fighting both President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the ISIS, a monitor said on Sunday. The report comes amid fierce clashes on the outskirts of Damascus between the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which is spearheading a major offensive in Iraq, and rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "ISIS executed eight men in Deir Hafer in the east of Aleppo province" on Saturday because they belonged to rebel groups that had fought against the jihadists as well as Assad's forces, it said. ISIS then "crucified them in the main square of the village, where their bodies will remain for three days", the Britain-based monitor said. Also in Aleppo province, a ninth man was executed and crucified in Al-Bab town near the border with Turkey. ISIS first emerged in Syria's war in late spring last year and was initially welcomed by some Syrian rebels who believed its combat experience would help topple Assad. AFP