Daesh Executes 8 Dutch Members for Attempt to Desert Near Raqqa - Source

Daesh executed eight militants near Daesh's de facto capital of Raqqa on suspicion they were plotting to desert, a source among the residents told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The execution took place in the Daesh-controlled town of Madan, southeast of Raqqa on the road to besieged Deir az-Zor.

"Daesh [terrorist] group in Madan near Raqqa executed eight Dutch militants after accusing them of trying to ‘massively exit’ [the group] and inciting other members to do the same," the source in Madan said.

Daesh ordered 66 other Dutch fighters to be captured and imprisoned in Madan and Tabqah, to the northwest of Raqqa, for fear they may attempt to flee.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that Daesh's claims of allegedly executing 8 militants from Netherlands in Madan area in the eastern countryside of Raqqa are not true. Reliable sources confirmed to SOHR that the rumors are fake and Daesh didn’t execute any foreign fighters in its ranks. Sources in Daesh told SOHR that the number of Dutch nationals in Raqqa is different.

Last month, the Netherlands extended its military air campaign against Daesh to Syria. It has been operating in Iraq as part of a US-led international coalition. Dutch nationals are believed to be among some 5,000 Europeans fighting in Daesh's ranks in the Middle East.