This Image Of A Seven-Year-Old Holding A Severed Head Has The World In Shock
Jihadist Khaled Sharrouf's son, a child raised in the suburbs of Sydney, struggles with both arms to hold up the decapitated head of a slain Syrian soldier. The image is such that it may shock some viewers.
By Sadho Ram — 12 Aug 2014, 02:19 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
In this image that Australian PM Tony Abbot has strongly condemned, a young boy, allegedly the son of an Australian terror convict now with ISIS in Syria, is shown holding up a severed head
KHALED Sharrouf’s son, a child raised in the suburbs of Sydney, struggles with both arms to hold up the decapitated head of a slain Syrian soldier.
Image via breitbart.comThe image was posted to Twitter by the boy's father, Khaled Sharrouf, with the caption "That's my boy"
Another shows Sharrouf dressed in camouflage fatigues and posing with his young sons, the flag of the Islamic State displayed behind them
Image via news.com.auThe image was taken in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of what has been declared an Islamic Caliphate by the Islamic State. It was posted on the Twitter account of Sharrouf, a Sydney man who fled to Syria last year and is now an Islamic State fighter.
nypost.com
It was one of a sequence of photos posted by Sharrouf, who security agencies believe travelled to Syria with his family. One shows him holding a decapitated head, the same one as his son.
nationalpost.com
Another shows Sharrouf dressed in camouflage fatigues and posing with his three young sons, the flag of the Islamic State displayed behind them. In this image, just like their father, the boys are dressed in dull green fatigues. And, like dad, they are all holding guns. They appeared to be aged around four, six and seven.
theaustralian.com.au
But it is the image that security agencies believe is Sharrouf’s son, struggling to hold the head of the decapitated soldier, that is utterly shocking. The little boy is dressed as if heading out for a picnic. He is wearing a pair of checked pants and a blue shirt, with the insignia, Polo Golf Kids. He has a green cap on his head and a blue plastic watch on. Over his shoulders he has ammunition pouches.
Sharrouf, a convicted terrorist is wanted by the AFP over his crimes in Syria and Iraq, which include the shooting execution of a captured Iraqi official in the desert outside the northern Iraqi city of Mosul
Sharrouf was thrown in jail in 2009 for four years for being part of a cell planning attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. He was banned from leaving the country after his release, but used his brother’s passport to escape to Syria with his family.
thedailybeast.comPM Abbot said it shows "just how barbaric" ISIS militants are
Mr Abbott, speaking to ABC radio from the Netherlands, said the pictures showed the barbaric nature of the Sunni extremists formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
"What we've got to appreciate is that Islamic State - as they're now calling themselves - is not just a terrorist group, it's a terrorist army and they're seeking not just a terrorist enclave but effectively a terrorist state, a terrorist nation," he said. "And this does pose extraordinary problems... not just for the people of the Middle East but for the wider world. And we see more and more evidence of just how barbaric this particular entity is."
theaustralian.com.au
Australian defence minister, David Johnston, said he was disgusted by the picture. "I'm obviously revolted," he told ABC radio.
Johnston said it underscored the importance of the government’s proposed counter-terrorism laws. But he stressed it should not be taken out of context and condemned the picture as a “shocking misrepresentation” of Islam and Muslims.
theguardian.com
“I’m very upset about this sort of thing completely colouring our view of Muslims,” Johnston said. “The vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving and peaceful people.”
theguardian.com
Lebanese Muslim Association president Samier Dandan said he wished to distance the Australian Muslim community from it
He said: “I stand very far from that concept – this is an act of a lunatic. Even if you are saying to me he made his won lift or carry and take a picture with a decapitated head this is something reflective of something we can all agree – this is an act of a lunatic.”
Meanwhile, the opposition is now demanding an update on the progress of an investigation launched in February into how Sharrouf was able to board a plane from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur
In 2009, Sharrouf pleaded guilty in the NSW supreme court to possessing goods in preparation for a terrorist act and served almost four years in jail. The attorney general, George Brandis, has previously told the Senate that Sharrouf “departed Australia in December of last year using his brother’s passport” with the assumed intention of travelling to Syria.
theguardian.com
In response to questions in the Senate in June, Brandis said Sharrouf was under investigation by state and federal police “regarding both his departure under a false identity and his alleged involvement in offences against the Australian Criminal Code and the Foreign Incursions and Recruitment Act”.
theaustralian.com.au
On Tuesday the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, called for a progress report from the immigration minister, Scott Morrison. “It beggars belief six months after Khaled Sharrouf eluded Australian authorities and was able to fly overseas to join this terrible war [that] yesterday we were subjected to the terrible images of Khaled Sharrouf getting his son caught up in the atrocities of this war,” Shorten said.
theguardian.com
“Six months ago minister Scott Morrison promised an urgent investigation into how this can occur. He needs to tell people how this can occur and to make sure that preventing other people with similar evil or twisted intent from joining in this terrible fight and indeed suborning their families into those terrible images we saw yesterday.”
theguardian.com