A video of the apparent slaying of a boy by Syrian rebels was uploaded to Twitter on Tuesday by Nasser Atta, a journalist in the Middle East who in the past has worked as a producer for ABC News. It was also covered by Al Masdar News, a pro-regime outlet.
While Russia &US fight over #Syria armed group Jind al Aqsa s execute 13 years old Rami al sinjlawi 4 insulting god pic.twitter.com/iIwdLnGF3d
— Nasser Atta (@nasseratta5) October 3, 2016
In the video, two figures can be seen kneeling in the middle of a street while armed men in dark green fatigues and face-masks stand nearby. One of the people kneeling is reportedly Rami Sinjlawi, a 13-year-old who allegedly committed blasphemy.
It’s not clear who the other figure is, or what exactly he did to warrant the bruta punishment.
The two detainees are then led to a nearby patch of ground and forced to kneel. Calls of Allahu Akbar (“God is great”) are heard; then the two men are shot repeatedly.
The Syrian boy Rami sinjlawi , 13 years old , from the town of Khan shoukoon, was executed for insulting God pic.twitter.com/Sy1dXawv3I
— Nasser Atta (@nasseratta5) October 3, 2016
Nasser and Al Masdar said that the armed group who carried out the killing is Jund al-Aqsa. Jund al-Aqsa is an al-Qaeda front group, according to Long War Journal, meaning it is loyal to al-Qaeda’s leaders.
The Salafi group was founded in 2012, is primarily active in northwest Syria, and was designated a terror organization by the US State Department earlier this year.
The execution took place in Khan Shoukoon, Nasser said. That appears to be a reference to Khan Shaykhun, a small town in western Syria that lies on the road between Hama and Aleppo.
Twitter users reacted with disgust to the execution. “Nothing to do with God! What sort of a fucking world is this and what god would want these bastards as followers?” @hermosovaccio said.
