A Syrian activist group is reporting that eight Dutch jihadis have been executed after 60 were taken prisoner following a dispute with IS forces in the city of Raqqa.

The group Raqqa is being Silently Slaughtered says on its website that a group of Dutch jihadis living in thesame compound east of Raqqa got into a fight with other IS supporters when one of them wanted to return home.

Three Dutch nationals were picked up and one beaten so badly that he died. An IS negotiator was then killed by the Dutch. Senior IS officials in Iraq who got wind of the incident ordered the arrest of the entire Dutch brigade and the execution of eight men.

Raqqa is being Silently Slaughtered is considered a reliable source of news in the region but the deaths have not yet been independently verified. Counter terrorism chief Dick Schoof told RTL that he could not confirm the reports but that the killings fit in with IS methods.

The father of one Dutch IS fighter from Delft told the NRC he had heard nothing about the executions but said communication was extremely difficult and connections are monitored by IS.

According to the website, the Dutch jihadis have been taken to unknown detention camps. The executions took place last Friday, the activist group says.

No evidence

Later on Tuesday, another activists’ organisation, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said its sources disputed the execution report. SOHR, which sympathises with the Syrian opposition, said the reports are ‘false rumours’. It bases its claims on ‘reliable sources’ within IS.

SOHR’s founder, who is based in England, said there are just four Dutch nationals in Raqqa and no more than 50 or 60 in Syria as a whole.