IS forcing children to watch executions

Islamic State militants have committed "mass atrocities" in Syria, including the recruitment of children as fighters, the United Nations (UN) says.

Public executions, amputations and lashings are now weekly occurrences in ISIS-controlled parts of Syria... with children forced to watch people getting shot in the head every Friday, according to a UN human rights investigation. A report by the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights also accused the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad of repeatedly using chemical weapons against civilians.

The report paints a bleak picture of life for people in Syria, whichever side of the civil war's frontline they are on.
Jihadists from the group now calling itself the Islamic State are also pushing residents, including children, to attend public executions by beheading or a shot to the head, it said.

'Bodies of those killed are placed on display for several days, terrorising the local population.'

In the 45-page report on the situation in the war-ravaged country, the panel described beheadings of boys as young as 15, men flogged for things like smoking or accompanying an 'improperly dressed' female relative.

Women not following dress code have been publicly lashed and stoned to death for infidelity. IS is also recruiting and training children as young as 10, with teens being used in active combat and suicide missions, the report said.