ISIS fighters executed nine children in a public square in Mosul Thursday for their membership to an enemy group. The children, whose ages were unknown, were reportedly tied to iron poles and slaughtered by being mutilated into half in front of horrified residents.

An unnamed source gave a statement to the Iraqi News on the gruesome killings: "ISIS fighters have executed nine youths of Mosul. The outfit accused these youths of belonging to an anti-ISIS resistance faction."

"The death sentence pronounced by ISIS sharia court stated that the men should be tied to an iron pole in the center of Tal Afar Square in Mosul and then sliced into two with an electric chainsaw," the source elaborated.

The Sun reported that ISIS conducted the executions as its revenge for the death of their top propagandist Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, who was killed by Russia, the United States (US), and their allies via airstrikes on Aleppo on Tuesday. Al-Adnani had been the subject of a manhunt worth a $5m bounty.

The barbaric killings comes as the latest in a long chain of slaughters conducted by the rebel group, which continue to control large swathes of land within Iraq and Syria. Members of the US-led coalition continue to train tribal groups for a massive siege on Mosul, currently ISIS' stronghold.

Iraq plans to reclaim Mosul from ISIS, also known as the Islamic State or Daesh, before the present year ends, with help from the US. Since coming under the rebel group's control in 2014, the city has witnessed routine killings made on allegations of cooperation with enemy forces.

Brutal killings continue to be part of ISIS' strategy of fear and dominance. The rebel group is notorious for executing people for their refusal to convert to Islam, engaging in homosexual relations, smoking and drinking liquor, and patronizing Western culture, among many others.