ISIS has punished two boys in Syria by hanging them from a pole for eating during Ramadan, the month when Muslim's fast during daylight hours.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported yesterday that the boys, who are believed to be under the age of 18, were "crucified" with a sign hung around their necks reporting their crime as "not fasting in Ramadan".

SOHR founder Rami Abdel told AFP that they were "suspended from a crossbar" near the office of the religious police in Mayadin, a town in eastern Syria that has been under ISIS control since last summer.

Clarifying earlier reports, Rahman told Christian Today that the boys had not been killed, but were being punished for being caught eating.

He said they had been left hanging "from yesterday daytime until overnight" but had now been taken down. He estimated that they were between the ages of 14 and 16.

Ramadan, which this year started on June 18, is intended to be a time of spiritual devotion, when Muslims abstain from a number of things, including food, drink, tobacco and sex, from dawn until sunset. Children are not usually required to fast during the holy month until adolescence. Pregnant women and the elderly are also not required to fast.