"I saw a scene of utter cruelty": Eyewitness account of Syrian jihadists beheading a foe

Warning: Hide the children; the photo at the end of this post is very graphic.

Jihadwatch.com

The idea that we would even be considering aiding these jihadis, and are already giving them weapons, is unconscionable. It will forever be a blot on the history of the United States. Even if Islamic supremacists write those histories, the theme of this chapter will be the spectacular success of their disinformation campaign in the U.S., and how they got the U.S. Government to come to the aid of al-Qaeda within twelve years of 9/11.

"Witness to a Syrian Execution: 'I Saw a Scene of Utter Cruelty,'" by Patrick Witty in Time, September 12 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

All wars are vicious, but the civil war in Syria seems every day to set new standards for brutality. As the fighting rages in its third year, increasing numbers of atrocities are committed by soldiers and fighters from forces loyal to the regime of President Bashar Assad, as well as armed rebels and Islamic militants from the numerous, loosely aligned groups opposing Assad. The violence is frequently sectarian in nature, with fighters claiming they act in defense of their faith, be it Sunni, Alawite, Shiite or any of the other sects that contribute to Syria’s religious landscape.The perpetrators of atrocities themselves often use digital cameras or smartphones to photograph or film their acts of torture and murder, uploading the images to the Internet. These images and videos are used for propaganda, and their authenticity is often impossible to verify. It is very rare that a group of fighters from either side gives a professional photojournalist from a country outside Syria full and unfettered access to chronicle an atrocity as it unfolds. The images above are products of that access.
What follows is a harrowing series of photographs of Islamic militants publicly executing, by decapitation, a young Syrian in the town of Keferghan, near Aleppo, on August 31, 2013.
Because of the danger in reporting inside Syria, it was not possible to confirm the identity or political affiliation of the victim. Nor are we certain about the motivation of his killers. One eyewitness who lives in the area and was contacted by TIME a week after the beheadings said that the executioners were from ISIS, an Al-Qaeda franchise operating in Syria and Iraq.

Yes, their motivation is an utter and absolute mystery.

TIME obtained the images exclusively from a photographer who was recently in Syria. This decapitation was the last of four executions he documented that day. TIME has agreed not to publish the photographer’s name, to protect him from repercussions when he returns to Syria. What follows is an edited account of his experience:

 Read the rest at http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/09/i-saw-a-scene-of-utter-cruelty-eyewitness-account-of-syrian-jihadists-beheading-a-foe.html

 

Posted by Robert on September 12, 2013 5:50 PM