New ISIS Video Shows A Child Soldier Executing Two Russian Spies Who Infiltrated Its Ranks
In the Islamic State's latest filmed execution, a child soldier from Kazakhstan is seen executing two Russian-speaking men accused of working for the Russian Federal Security Service. The video, which appears to be staged, is directed at audiences in Russia and Russian-speaking Central Asian countries where ISIS is said to be gaining a foothold.
By Sadho Ram — 14 Jan 2015, 03:28 PM — Updated almost 10 years ago
The Islamic State has released a brand new propaganda video. Titled Uncovering The Enemy Within, the seven and a half-minute long video purports to show a child, who appears to be an ethnic Kazakh, executing two men identified as Russian "spies".
The footage was released by ISIS' media arm Alhayat Media Center, and is already being called fake by online viewers, VICE News reported. The production style of the video, released on 13 January 2015, has all the makings of a mediocre television series.
The child, who calls himself Abdullah, first appeared in a video released in November 2014, NYMag reported. There, he explains that he is at an ISIS training camp for kids, learning Arabic and various military skills. His goal, he tells his interviewer, is to grow up to execute non-believers on behalf of the Islamic State.
SAYS cannot verify the authenticity of the footage which features the confessions of two men who say they were recruited to spy on ISIS by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
Both men are interrogated against a blank, white wall, with an eerie violet light cast on their faces. Long, dramatic fades between scenes and an ominous drum beat soundtrack punctuate scenes of the impending executions.
The video opens with a written message claiming that after the militant group began its bloodied insurgency across parts of Iraq and Syria last year, "Its enemies thought that they could dispatch spies and agents to plot against the Islamic State."
"The following presentation is a portion of the confessions of two agents recruited by Russian Intelligence," the opening title reads.
The first alleged Russian Security Service agent gives his name as Mamayev Jambulat Yesenjanovich. Aged 39, he says he is from Kazakh. He claims he was "blackmailed" by the Russian agency to gain access to an unnamed top ISIS leader and steal information from a computer he said the leader uses while in Turkey.
He then outlines his missions, one of which was "to gather information about Russian-speaking brothers." Yesenjanovich also allegedly "confesses" to a second mission, aimed at gathering intelligence from the laptop of an unnamed militant.
The second alleged Russian Security Service agent gives his name as Ashimov Sergey Nikolayavich. Aged 31, and also known by his Arabic name, Abdullah Abu Suleiman, he says he is Russian. He claims the FSB sent him to assassinate a top ISIS leader in Syria.
"I was a Muslim before this," Nikolayavich says. "Then I handed brothers over and thereby became an apostate. And I direct my message to those who want to come here and spy, I say to them repent to Allah now before it's too late."
Toward the end of his "confession," the ISIS interrogator asks him what the punishment is for someone who betrays his Muslim brothers.
Like Mamayev, the interviewer appears to be from a former Soviet republic, whose Russian is coarser than that of the man who read the introductory text.
nymag.com
The video then shows a gun-wielding ISIS fighter, who speaks Russian, and the boy standing over the Russian "spies," who are on their knees with their hands tied and wearing gray jumpsuits
A bearded, Russian-speaking militant pronounces a death sentence for the men, who are wearing gray jumpsuits. “And we say to all those tempted by their inner selves to spy on the secrets of the Muslims and mujahedin that we will not have any leniency or mercy towards them,” the man says.
buzzfeed.com
After an introductory statement by the bearded man, the young "cub of the Khilafah," or caliphate, then purportedly shoots the men in the head as the camera lingers on his gun in slow motion
The video appears to show the young Kazakh boy shooting the gray-clad men in the back of the head with a pistol. A first glance, however, suggests that the video may have been staged. No blood or entry wounds appear when the boy seemingly fires the gun, prompting the men to fall limply to the ground.
The FSB told Western news agencies in Moscow that it had no comment on the video, though it “confessed” to spying on ISIS. The group executed a Russian hostage, Sergei Gorbunov, after Moscow failed to pay a ransom for his release last year, the New York Times reported.
buzzfeed.com
Abdullah is one of hundreds of children being raised under ISIS rule. Many of the kids may not remember a life before the battle-hardened world they now live in. And the video, it is more than just propaganda, it's a chilling reminder of the level of low ISIS can go in perpetuating its twisted belief in the name of religion.
"It's terrifying to see how these children change in a short time," Raqqawi told the Telegraph. "They are building a new generation of people who would do their bidding, including suicide bombings, without blinking."