ISIS jihadists fighting in Syria, Iraq crucify 9 men, establish ‘caliphate’

Beirut/Baghdad: The jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has publicly executed and crucified nine men in Syria, eight of them rebels fighting both President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the jihadists, a monitor said on Sunday.

The report comes amid fierce clashes on the outskirts of Damascus between the ISIS, 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.

An image made available by the jihadist Twitter account Al-Baraka news on June 16, 2014 allegedly shows Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants executing members of the Iraqi forces on the Iraqi-Syrian border (Photo: AFP)

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. But subsequent jihadist abuses quickly turned the Syrian opposition, including Islamists, against ISIS.

Rebels launched a major anti-ISIS offensive in January 2014, and have pushed them out of large swathes of Aleppo province and all of Idlib in the northwest.

However, ISIS remains firmly rooted in Raqa, its northern Syrian headquarters, and wields significant power in Deir Ezzor in the east near the border with Iraq. Activists say the group's Iraq offensive and capture of heavy weapons — some of them US-made — appears to have boosted its confidence in Syria.

East of Damascus, "fierce clashes broke out early Sunday between rebels from the 'Army of Islam' and ISIS near the town of Hammuriyeh", the observatory said.

The Army of Islam is a major component of the "Islamic Front", Syria's largest rebel coalition which has been fighting ISIS for months, but such fighting in Damascus province is unprecedented.

Regime soldiers and warplanes backed by Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah also pounded rebel positions near the capital with rockets and surface-to-surface missiles, said the local coordination committees activist network.

Syria's war began as a peaceful protest movement in March 2011 demanding political change, but became an armed insurgency when Assad's regime unleashed a brutal crackdown.

Many months into the fighting, jihadists began to flock to Syria where upwards of 162,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in more than three years of conflict.

ISIS establishes 'caliphate', claims leadership of Islamic world

The ISIS is now claiming leadership of the world's Muslims. Known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers, ISIS has carried out frequent bombings and shootings in Iraq, and is also arguably the most capable force fighting President Bashar al-Assad inside Syria.

But it truly gained international attention this month, when its fighters and those from other militant groups swept through the northern city of Mosul, then overran major areas of five provinces north and west of Baghdad.

ISIS is led by the shadowy Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and backed by thousands of Islamist fighters in Syria and Iraq, some of them westerners, and it appears to be surpassing al-Qaida as the world's most dangerous jihadist group.

In a sign of the group's confidence, it has now expanded its claim of leadership to encompass all the world's Muslims.

In an audio recording distributed online Friday, ISIS's spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani declared Baghdadi "the caliph" and "leader for Muslims everywhere".

Fighters from the ISIL jihadist group driving near Tikrit, right and ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, left (Photo: AFP)

"The Shura (council) of the Islamic State met and discussed this issue (of the caliphate) ... The Islamic State decided to establish an Islamic caliphate and to designate a caliph for the state of the Muslims," Adnani said.

He was referring to a system of rule last used to govern a state almost 100 years ago, before the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Western governments fear ISIS could eventually emulate al-Qaida and strike overseas, but their biggest worry for now is its sweeping gains in Iraq and the likely eventual return home of foreign fighters attracted by ISIS and Baghdadi.

Among them are men like Mehdi Nemmouche, a 29-year-old Frenchman who allegedly carried out a deadly shooting on a Jewish museum in Belgium after spending a year fighting with ISIS in Syria.

The Soufan Group, a New York-based consultancy, estimates that 12,000 foreign fighters have travelled to Syria, including 3,000 from the west.

And ISIS appears to have the greatest appeal, with King's College London professor Peter Neumann estimating around 80 per cent of western fighters in Syria have joined the group.

Unlike other groups fighting Assad, ISIS is seen working towards an ideal Islamic emirate. And compared with al-Qaida's franchise in Syria, al-Nusra Front, it has lower entry barriers.

ISIS has also sought to appeal to non-Arabs, publishing English-language magazines, after having already released videos in English, or with English subtitles.

The jihadist group claims to have had fighters from the Britain, France, Germany and other European countries, as well as the United States, and from the Arab world and the Caucasus.

Much of the appeal also stems from Baghdadi himself — the ISIS leader is touted as a battlefield commander and tactician, a crucial distinction compared with al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

"Baghdadi has done an amazing amount — he has captured cities, he has mobilised huge amounts of people, he is killing ruthlessly throughout Iraq and Syria," said Richard Barrett, a former counter terrorism chief at MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence service.

"If you were a guy who wanted action, you would go with Baghdadi," Barrett told AFP.

At the time Baghdadi took over what was then known as the Islamic State of Iraq, or ISI, in May 2010, his group appeared to be on the ropes, after the "surge" of US forces combined with the shifting allegiances of Sunni tribesmen to deal him a blow.

But the group has bounced back, expanding into Syria in 2013. Baghdadi sought to merge with al-Nusra, which rejected the deal, and the two groups have operated separately since.

Watch: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is the mastermind behind Iraq crisis

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