IS executes six boys, flogs three over football

The boys, from the militant group's de facto capital Mosul, were handcuffed before the militants used a welding machine and rod to kill them.

Their execution was carried out in a public display.

"The execution took place in Mosul in front of a large gathering. This came in order to create a state of fear and panic among the people," the American Herald Tribune quoted a source as saying.

"IS said that the youths belonged to a resistance faction," the source added.

Separately, three boys were flogged in the city on charges of playing football, local reports said.

"IS men arrested three young men for playing football, one player wearing a Messi shirt in Martyrs' Park in downtown Mosul," Iraqi News quoted a source as saying.

"IS militants have lashed every young man with 30 lashes in a public square in front of a crowd of people in central Mosul," the source said.

A few months ago the militant group declared football is un-Islamic as it requires referees, who are not necessarily Sharia law practitioners, to make decisions, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The game was subsequently banned.

Meanwhile, Baghdad gears up for a long-awaited offensive to retake the city of Mosul from IS militants.

On Friday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi approved the deployment of around 500 American soldiers to a US military base that has been established south of Mosul, near the recently recaptured town of Qayyarah.

Top US military officers have hinted that the final push for Mosul could begin next month, but there are still significant military, political and humanitarian obstacles between the launch of the operation and entering and retaking the city.

IS has suffered a series of blows forcing it into retreat in parts of Syria and Iraq.