New ISIS video appears to show child killing alleged Russian spies

A horrifying new video released online on Tuesday appears to show ISIS using a young boy to execute a pair of captives the terror group claims are Russian spies.

The slickly-produced video shows two men being interrogated in Russian about their alleged attempt to infiltrate ISIS. One captive, and alleged Kazakh national, states he was ordered to spy on an ISIS leader , while the other confesses to having been sent to assassinate a senior ISIS commander. The video later skips to an outdoor scene where the alleged spies are kneeling in a field before a burly man and a young boy of 10 or less armed with a pistol. 

“Allah has gifted the Islamic State’s security agency with the apprehension of these two spies,” the adult states. “By Allah’s grace, they are now in the custody of the lion cubs of the Caliphate.”

At that point the young boy steps forward and appears to calmly shoot the two men repeatedly in the head.

ISIS has been known to employ child soldiers, which it calls the “lion cubs of the Caliphate.” The video ends with a scene from a previous ISIS propaganda video released in November, showing a training camp for “the next generation” of jihadis. The same boy appears in that video, speaking of his ambitions to grow up to “kill infidels” and identifying himself as “Abdullah” from Kazakhstan.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately return a request for comment about the video. An official with Russia’s Federal Security Service declined to comment when asked about the video by Russia media outlet RIA Novosti. The news agency said the Russian embassy in Damascus also had no comment.

A recent study by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) revealed the growing use of children by ISIS both in its propaganda and in military roles, but this is the first such graphic use of a young child in a public execution.

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New ISIS video appears to show child killing alleged Russian spies

US kidnap victim appears in public

28 July 2013 Last updated at 16:01 ET US rapper Nelly invited Amanda Berry, centre left, back on stage after his set One of three women held captive for a decade at a home in Cleveland, in the US state of Ohio, has made her first public appearance three months after her escape.

Amanda Berry appeared at a concert a day after her abductor pleaded guilty to kidnap and rape charges.

She walked onstage with her family and waved to the cheering crowd.

It comes after Ariel Castro, 53, agreed a plea deal that will see him imprisoned for life without parole.

He abducted Ms Berry, now 27, as well as Michelle Knight, 32, and Gina DeJesus, 23, from the streets of Cleveland, Ohio, between 2002-04.

Castro was charged with 977 counts including two of aggravated murder for the “unlawful termination” of one of the women’s pregnancies, as well as multiple counts of kidnapping and rape.

Partying

Ms Berry appeared at the Cleveland’s RoverFest 2013 on Saturday.

She was introduced onstage by a local radio host who had invited her to attend the music festival on his show Rover’s Morning Glory.

The host, Shane French, told the Associated Press news agency he was as surprised as anyone when she arrived.

“I just said that she had 10 years of partying to make up for and she should come,” he said.

US rapper Nelly called Ms Berry back to the stage after his music set at the festival.

She vanished on 21 April 2003 after leaving her job at a Burger King restaurant – a day before her 17th birthday.

The women were discovered in May after Ms Berry attempted to flee the house where they were being held when Castro went out.

She attracted the attention of neighbour Charles Ramsey, who managed to help her.

When officials arrived they freed Ms Knight and Ms DeJesus, as well as Ms Berry’s six-year-old daughter, who was fathered by Castro.

The women thanked the public for their support in a YouTube video earlier in July.

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US kidnap victim appears in public