Isis crucifies nine people in Syrian villages

Crucifixions have been meted out by Isis across Syria as punishment to rebels

File photo: Forces loyal to Syria's President Assad look at weapons which were said to have been used by rebel fighters in Sheikh Zayyat village
File photo: Forces loyal to Syria's President Assad look at weapons which were said to have been used by rebel fighters in Sheikh Zayyat village Credit: Photo: Reuters

A man has survived being crucified by Isis in Syria, after the jihadists raided his village and nailed him to a cross for eight hours.

The unnamed man from Al-Bab, near the border with Turkey, was crucified as a punishment, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

He managed to survive the ordeal.

But eight others who received the same punishment did not survive. The men, from Deir Hafer in the east of Aleppo province, were subjected to the same treatment and crucified "in the main square of the village, where their bodies will remain for three days", the Britain-based monitor said.

The men were reportedly rebels fighting against both President Bashar al-Assad and jihadist groups including Isis.

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 Mr Assad.

But subsequent acts of immense brutality 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.

The report comes amid fierce clashes on the outskirts of Damascus between Isis and anti-Assad forces.