The latest Islamic State video, released today, depicts the beheading of a man alleged to be a Russian spy, knife-murdered by a jihadi speaking Russian.
The extremely graphic video, which can be seen in its entirety here, is the usual heavily-produced ISIS propaganda, complete with dramatic music and video effects. The prisoner, who says his name is Haroun, makes a forced confession to be an agent of the FSB, the Russian intelligence service.
He issues some threats to Russia on the Islamic State’s behalf – referencing the Russian air campaign in Syria – before he is led to the shore of a lake, clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, and beheaded by a jihadi with a knife. The killer speaks in Russian before going to work on the prisoner, and appears to be of Russian extraction. Unusually for an ISIS video, the executioner does not wear a mask.
International Business Times says that if the authenticity of this video is confirmed, “it would be the first time the jihadist group has beheaded a Russian citizen.” There was, however, an ISIS video released last January which purportedly showed two child jihadis shooting a pair of “traitors” who “confessed” to being spies in the employ of Russian intelligence.
NBC News translates the title of the video as “You Shall Be Disappointed and Humiliated, O Russians.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.