Daesh carried out 3,500 executions in Syria since declaring ‘caliphate'

The Daesh militant group has carried out more than 3,500 executions in Syria  since declaring its “caliphate” in the war-torn county in June last year, AFP reported Sunday, citing figures from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

According to the Observatory, militants associated with the group executed 53 people in Syria last month alone. At least 35 of the people executed were civilians.

The numbers from last month bring the total number of people executed by the group to 3,591 since Daesh declared it's “caliphate” in Syria. The toll includes 1,945 civilians, defined as individuals not taking part in the fighting, AFP reported.

Daesh has been known to execute people for charges of witchcraft, homosexuality, and providing information to the US-led coalition conducting airstrikes on militant targets.

According to the Observatory, more than half of those executed were members of the Sunni Shaitat tribe, of whom 930 members were killed after the clan opposed the militant group in Deir Ezzor province last year.