ISIS judge shot dead as Syrian town orders terror group to leave

An Islamic State (IS) judge has been shot dead by a Syrian man after ordering the beheading of at least three of his family members. The IS judge and two of his escorts were killed in the northern town of Manbij, Aleppo in retaliation.

After killing the judge, the man - who has not been named - reportedly turned the gun on himself and took his own life to "avoid falling into the hands of Daesh [IS]". Speaking to the Kurdish ARA news agency on condition of anonymity, an eyewitness said: "The young man has shot dead a Tunisian national, who served as a judge at the ISIS-linked Sharia Court in Manbij.

"The same judge had ordered the beheading of at least three family members of the man, including his brother." The source added: "He took revenge and killed himself afterwards to avoid falling in the hands of Daesh (IS)." According to local activist, Abu al-Baraa, the man's brother and uncle were executed for "photographing IS strongholds".

Dozens of people took to the streets of Manbij in protest at IS atrocities and demanded an end to its brutal rule, but the terrorist organisation responded by opening fire on demonstrators, killing two people and injuring several others. The remaining participants were arrested by IS militants, according to ARA. Unverified footage of the protests shows the gathering of locals in the town square chanting: "Out, out, out – ISIS get out." The anti-IS demonstration on 18 November was the third of its kind by Manbij's residents in the past two months.

Activist Abu Yaman al-Halabi participated in an anti-IS protest and said: "There is great unrest among civilians in the city; this is the result of major harassment and arbitrary detentions, of women in particular and men in general, and the many cases where innocent civilians have been executed." Manbij was captured by IS in January 2014 after it defeated government forces.