Islamic State militants publicly behead man in Syria for crime of 'sorcery'

Isis militants in Iraq hold up their flag. Photo / AP

Pictures have emerged purporting to show Islamic State militants publicly beheading a man after finding him guilty of practicing "sorcery" in another brutal execution committed by the extremist group.

Images released online via Isis-affiliated channels show a blindfolded man being led by a militant and a young boy through the city of Raqqa, an Isis stronghold in Syria.

A group of Syrian activists known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) told The Independent the man was taken to the Raqqa countryside and beheaded in front of a crowd of people.

A spokesperson for the group said the man's supposed "crime" was listed as sorcery.

RBSS is made up of a small number of people still living in Raqqa who send out pictures and information from inside the besieged city.

Their work is key to gauging an idea of what life is like under Isis, as only a few journalists have managed to enter Raqqa and leave safely.

The extremist group has committed a spate of atrocities since it advanced across Syria and Iraq as it try to establish a "caliphate", including the beheading of hostages and the death of a Jordanian pilot it burned alive.

In December, Isis published a copy of its penal code and vowed to strictly enforce it in areas under its control.

Punishments for acts it deemed criminal included stoning to death, crucifixion and amputation.

- Independent