Syria conflict: Islamic State 'committed war crimes'

Islamic State (IS) militants have committed "mass atrocities" in Syria, including the recruitment of children as fighters, the United Nations says.

In a report, investigators say public executions are a "common spectacle" in areas run by IS, which recently joined fighting against Syria's government.The report also accuses the Syrian government of using chemical agents in eight separate incidents this year.The conflict between government forces and several rebel groups began in 2011.Some 200,000 have died since then.The findings are the result of six months of interviews and evidence collected between January and July this year as part of an inquiry into human rights violations inside Syria.The period covered in the report coincides with the growth of IS in Syria. The group seeks to create an independent Islamic State in an area that stretches across Syria and Iraq.It has attracted jihadists from across the region, as wel