In this image (obtained from Wikipedia), the gray area is the territory controlled by ISIS.

A couple of weeks ago, ISIS made news for martyring children who refused to renounce their Christian faith. This story was hardly surprising, and in fact, it was depressingly only one of the smaller outrages against humanity they’ve committed. Not content to stop there, we’ve received news this week of even more of their barbarism this week.

First of all, we need to remember that ISIS is one of the worst perpetrators in the War on Women. Fresh off news from last week that the terrorist organization has published pamphlets on how to properly sexually exploit and abuse women and underage girls, we find news of what happens when women and children don’t submit to these horrors. Mary Chastain over at Breitbart brings to our attention a report from the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights that at least 150 women have been executed after they refused to have sex with members of the terrorist group:

“At least 150 females, including pregnant women, were executed in Fallujah by a militant named Abu Anas Al-Libi after they refused to accept jihad marriage,” said the Ministry. “Many families were also forced to migrate from the province’s northern town of Al-Wafa after hundreds of residents received death threats.”

The militants buried the victims in mass graves in the city. The families who left lost many children after they were stranded in the desert.

This might receive some coverage in Western media. It should be one of the leading news items over the next few days, but perhaps it doesn’t offend feminists and their media enablers as much as restrictions on the right to slaughter unborn children or rape stories with only tenuous connections to the truth.

Meanwhile, it has also come to our attention that the Islamic State has published an official penal code for the territories under its control. It is unsurprisingly harsh. Adam Kredo at the Washington Free Beacon explains:

The Islamic State (IS) has published it own penal code, which harshly penalizes actions such as sodomy and blasphemy with punishments including execution, crucifixion, lashing, and the severing of limbs, among other penalties.

IS (also known as ISIL or ISIS) issued the detailed document as a “warning and a reminder to people living under its rule” that any behavior not in accordance with strict Islamic law will be cruelly punished, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which translated a copy of the penal code posted at a radical online depot known as the Jihadi Media Platform.

Radical militants associated with IS emphasized that they have a “commitment” to enforce the brutal doctrine “vigilantly,” according to MEMRI.

As IS continues to gain strength and devotees, it has staked out bolder and more confrontational policies governing the territory in its control. The release of a formal penal code is a sign that the terror outfit remains committed to regional dominance in the face of ongoing U.S.-led airstrikes.

The emphasis on crucifixion is mine. The whole list of punishments is brutal on its own, but the inclusion of that particular method of execution, while not unusual in that reason, is nevertheless one of the greatest reminders of the scale of their inhumanity. It is one of the punishments for murder and stealing, although as Kredo notes, stealing on its own, or “banditry”, might just result in the severing of the culprit’s right hand and left leg. In addition to murder, the list of offenses that will result in the death penalty include: “blasphemy against Allah”, homosexual acts for both the active and passive partners, “spying for unbelievers”, and adultery is punished by stoning until the offending is dead. Drinking alcohol will result in only 80 lashes, which is enough to kill a person, and theft–which is evidently different from death penalty stealing and “banditry”–will only be punished by cutting off the culprit’s hand. Of course, as with the lashes, it is entirely possible for a person to die from having limbs severed.

All of this comes on the heels of a report by The Guardian that Obama administration officials backed talks with ISIS in an attempt to secure the release of Peter Kassig, also known by his Islamic first name (he converted while captive) of Abdul-Rahman. We know how that story ended. Kassig was killed on November 16. The take away here is more than just the fact that the Obama administration is okay with negotiating with some of the worst terrorists, although that is appalling enough on its own, but we also need to realize that it couldn’t even orchestrate this planned meeting properly.

With US troops now engaging in combat with ISIS fighters for the first time, it’s important to remember the evil we are up against. We are fighting one of the most barbaric groups of militants in centuries, and thus far, our strategy has had plenty of problems in meeting its stated goal to destroy the terrorist group. As a nation, we need to find the resolve to conquer them and ensure that our leaders share it.