‘To ISIS, with love’: Syrian rebels make a statement in new execution video released online

Syrian rebel group al-Jabhat al-Shamiya aka the Levant Front released an ISIS-like propaganda video online, showing prisoners who are about to be executed. However, the video comes with a twist.

Just like ISIS videos, this video has smart editing and a polished look. It starts with the logo of “Kefah Media,” apparently the producer of the video. It moves in to a prison with stone walls and gets in the darkness of a prison cell.

A 19-year-old prisoner called Hamza Ghaleb al-Assaf who apparently talks about the atrocities he has been involved in. Then 17-year-old prisoner Mohamad Alali Alkalaf talks about himself. After a few more prisoners talk about themselves, 10 prisoners are taken to a field.

The prisoners, all in orange clothes, stand heads down while masked assassins stand behind them. With Islamic music in the background, the video appears to look like another execution video by a Middle Eastern terrorist group. However, there is a major twist.

“Muslims are not criminals,” says a caption on the screen. As prisoners kneel down with guns pointed at their head, the assassins pull their guns away and uncover their face. A cleric comes and asks the prisoners to repent for what they have done.

The ISIS fighters are allowed to get up as religious preaching appears on screen. “Let not the hatred of other to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice,” it said.

“Be just: that is next to piety.”

The prisoners are then unchained, and their handcuffs are removed. They are taken back to the prison. The prison window shuts down, apparently indicating that they are going to be prisoners even though they are not going to be executed.

The authenticity of the video is unconfirmed. It is unclear what happens to the prisoners after they are taken back to the prison. It is also questionable if they are real ISIS fighters. Some may call it a symbolic video with a message from the Syrian rebel group.