It's hard to know what exactly life is like in Syria due to the widespread unrest in the country where Islamist group ISIS has established its HQ in the city of Raqqa. A number of journalists and foreign aid workers have been nabbed by the group, with the footage of the execution of two American reporters and one British aid staff taken and uploaded on YouTube for all to see.
Recently, some witnesses in Raqqa have been able to give the rest of the world a glimpse into life in the said city. Apparently, public crucifixions and decapitated heads are becoming common sights in the ISIS stronghold, as noted in the video clip released by CNN.
Could this place be today's hell on earth?
According to the witness who spoke to CNN, anyone holding a pack of cigarettes would get a couple of lashings. There also are strict regulations about women's clothing and merchandise displays. Teenage boys are also reportedly recruited as informants.
Meanwhile, another witness was able to secretly film the goings on at Raqqa. The mystery woman took the footage "using a camera concealed beneath her niqab," the Daily Mail reported.
"The film shows a woman in a niqab taking children to the park - with a rifle slung over one shoulder," the publication observed. "Men wielding Kalashnikov assault rifles are seen everywhere in the city, which is about 100 miles from Aleppo, Syria's largest city."
Apparently, the women have also been tasked to take up arms in the city.
Mashable said that this video was actually commissioned by France 2 and was subsequently uploaded on YouTube.
"According to the report, some 150 French women are now living alongside the ISIS militants in northern Syria, having traveled there as jihadi brides to the extremist," the site added.
In the video, there also was "a heart-stopping moment when an armed man in a car calls over the woman filming, telling her she has to 'behave better' in public," the Daily Mail said.
"We see your face. You have to pay attention by covering up. God loves women who are covered," the man was seen telling the woman.
Last month, CNN managed to interview a 13-year-old boy who fled from Syria to Turkey, He was one of those whom ISIS told to attend one of the children's camps north of Syria. The children were reportedly taught about the Quran and the Hadith of the Prophet, as well as "courses on weapons, Kalashnikovs and other light military stuff."
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