Deir e-Zor activist: IS executed 14 for desertion
This week, the Islamic State fired its governor of Deir […]
3 September 2015
This week, the Islamic State fired its governor of Deir e-Zor’s provincial capital after a conflict between foreign and local fighters over whether inhabitants should be driven out of their villages west of their city. The Islamic State believes that residents are smuggling goods into the two remaining regime-controlled districts in Deir e-Zor city.
In a development related to intra-Islamic State friction, the group recently executed 14 of its fighters for deserting the front in Al-Hasakah. They were executed with “a barrage of bullets” after being surrounded in al-Mayadin city in Deir e-Zor province “nearly 10 days ago,” Muhammad Hasan, an opposition activist in Deir e-Zor who talked with IS supporters about the executions, tells Syria Direct’s Osama Abu Zeid.
Q: Why did the Islamic State execute these individuals and how many were there?
They were executed after they fled from the battle in Al-Hasakeh. They were charged with running away the day of the battle. The number of deserters was approximately 14 people, among them some of Saudi and Tunisian nationality, but the majority were from Deir e-Zor.
Q: Where and when were they executed? What was the manner of their execution?
They were executed via a barrage of bullets after they were surrounded and stripped of their weapons and equipment. It happened in the desert nearly 10 days ago.