Al Qaeda-linked jihadists accused of hanging victims on crosses

Al Qaeda-backed jihadists are hanging the bodies of executed enemies on crosses crucifixion-style in a town in Northern Syria, according to a Syrian opposition group.

The executions reportedly took place Tuesday in Raqqa, where the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS, an Al Qaeda-linked network, has taken over the city, according to Abu Ibrahim Alrquaoui, who identifies himself as a founder of a group called Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently.

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Alrquaoui said those killed were rebels that had previously fought against the Syrian government of Bashir al-Assad. “It’s very dangerous,” Alrquaoui, told FoxNews.com in an interview. “They threaten us directly and want to kill us.”

Alrquaoui said he witnessed the executions himself, and took photographs that have since been posted on the group’s Facebook page, and are now being circulated on the Internet.

The series of photographs show different men bound to crosses in what appears to be a public square area, though it could not be independently confirmed that the subjects were dead or, if they were, by what means the executions had been carried out. The pictures do not show any apparent signs of the men nailed to a cross, nor are there any obvious, visible signs of fatal wounds.

ISIS has ruled over Raqqa for the last year, killing its remaining rebel population and demolishing national relics, according to multiple reports. “They want to stay in control.  Everything they do is to scare people,” Alrquaoui said. “That’s why they kill people publicly.”

Jihadists operating in Syria have previously been accused of shooting people in the head, then affixing them to crosses. In this latest case, the ISIS charged the seven men with espionage and attempted assassination of the group’s leaders, according to Alrquaoui.

Many Syrian cities like Raqqa have fallen into the hands of Islamic terrorists. More than 150,000 people have died since the civil war began in March 2011.