In the midst of heavy military losses, fighters from the Islamic State have crucified eight men on electrical poles in their Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, in punishment for crimes committed against the Caliphate. According to reports, three of the eight men were former members of ISIS who had tried to desert but were arrested before they could escape from Raqqa. Four others were accused of violating unspecified Islamic State “regulations” in Raqqa, while the eighth man was charged with spying for the forces of the international coalition hostile to ISIS. All eight of the men had been held in prison for as long as a year, but only now were executed. Witnesses said that prior to the executions an official of the Islamic court read out a sentence explaining the reasons of the death sentence, but did not reveal the identities of the victims. The executions took place last Sunday according to a local human rights activist, Mahmoud Nadeem, who reported on the killings. The militants closed all the roads leading into the Mansoura district during the execution. Reports disagree on whether the men were first shot and then crucified, or whether the death blow came while they were strung