DHAKA: Islamic State militants have executed Syrian army soldiers and are holding a group of them hostage after capturing an air base in northeast Syria at the weekend.

Pictures posted on the Internet and on Twitter by supporters showed on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.

Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda, stormed Tabqa air base near Raqqa city on Sunday after days of fighting with the army that cost more than 500 lives, according to monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Tabqa was the army’s last foothold in an area otherwise controlled by the militants, who have seized large areas of Syria and Iraq.

The United States has carried out air strikes on the group in Iraq and is studying its options in Syria.

In one picture posted online, a group of militants in balaclavas are seen gunning down at least seven kneeling men identified as army personnel.

Media were not able to immediately confirm the authenticity of the images or when exactly they were taken.

BDST: 1602 HRS, AUG 27, 2014