WARNING: This post contains graphic details. Discretion is advised.
Gruesome footage has emerged of purported Syrian rebel fighters beheading a young boy accused of fighting with pro-government forces.
The boy in the video is reported to be between the ages of 10 and 13 and is said to be from Handarat, a Palestinian camp near Aleppo.
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A video taken prior to the beheading, shows a group of men holding the boy captive in the back of a moving pick-up truck, one man grasping the child by his hair and another man lightly slapping the boy’s face to keep his attention. The boy appears to have an intravenous tube going into his arm, leading to a bag wrapped around his waist with a bandage.
The subsequent video shows one of the same men holding the boy down in the bed of the same truck, forcing his hands behind his back, before taking a knife to the youngster’s neck and severing his head.
The act was over and done with in less than a minute, the video ending with the killer lifting the boy’s head into the air before placing it atop his corpse.
Storyful, which monitors and verifies photos and videos shared on social media, cited numerous social media accounts claiming the Islamist rebel group Jaish al-Fatah (the Army of Conquest) or its affiliate the Nour al-Din al-Zinki Movement captured the boy and accused him of fighting with a government-aligned Palestinian group, the Liwa al-Quds (Jerusalem Brigades)*.
The BBC reported forces aligned with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad have been making efforts to recapture the area of Handarat. And according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, there were “violent clashes” near Handarat between “Islamic factions and the Liwa al-Quds and government forces this week.
Who are Jaish al-Fatah and Nour al-Din al -Zinki?
Jaish al-Fatah is an alliance that includes the Nour al-Din al-Zinki Movement and the al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra among others. Although it’s a coalition of Islamist groups, Jaish al-Fatah is also fighting against the so-called Islamic State.
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Prior to joining Jaish al-Fatah, Nour al-Din al Zinki was one of the opposition groups which the U.S. government reportedly supported and provided weapons to — including TOW anti-tank missiles — in the fight against the Assad regime.
A recent report from Amnesty International accused Nour al-Din al-Zinki of torture, abductions and forced confessions.
A purported statement from al-Zinki condemned the beheading and claimed the group “complies with human rights and the international conventions.”
https://twitter.com/iAssil/status/755467931430125568/photo/1
The statement distanced itself from the actions of “an individual wrongdoing and not a result of a group’s policy” and vowed to punish those responsible for the child’s killing.
*Please note: An earlier version referred to Liwa al-Quds as al-Quds Brigades.
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