Syrian Rebels Executed Villagers: Human Rights Watch

In August, Islamist rebels in Syria executed almost 200 unarmed villagers—pro-regime members of the minority Alawite sect—in Latakia province, Human Rights Watch said in a report today. Opposition forces sometimes even tried to kill "entire families," or else killed adult males and held the women and children hostage, says the report, based on accounts from survivors and witnesses.

"At the time of writing, according to opposition sources, over 200 civilians, the vast majority of whom are women and children, continue to be held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) and Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, groups that led the opposition offensive," the report says, according to NPR. "Some of the opposition abuses had clear sectarian motivations." (More Syria stories.)