A newly-married husband in northwest Syria divorced his wife at their wedding reception after his new bride insulted him with a 'donkey' song, the Al Watan newspaper said on Friday.

The incident happened in the Syrian city of Latakia after the bride had chosen the Arab song, "I love you, my little donkey," for their first wedding dance.

Singing the song, the woman went on to call her new husband a donkey numerous times, admitting however that she would be angry if anyone else did so.

Meanwhile, the husband did not find his wife's joke amusing and asked the DJ to change the record. The DJ refused to do so, saying that the bride had requested the song.

The furious husband then grabbed the DJ's microphone and cried out "talaq" three times.

Under Sunni Islamic Law, a husband may claim a divorce by saying 'talaq' - which means "I divorce you" - three times. The divorce comes into effect as soon as the words are pronounced.