ISIS, THE MOST EXTREMIST GROUP IN SYRIA

A chilling video has emerged showing the merciless execution of 14 men in Syria by a brutal group that are too extreme even for Al Qaeda.

It shows the blindfolded men – some of whom appear to be just teenagers – kneeling in front of a pit at night, illuminated by torchlight.

A man, horrifyingly calm, shoots the first man in the back of the head with a pistol. More shots follow in quick, methodical succession. By the end, there are 14 blood-spattered corpses in and around the mass grave.

It was obtained by CNN from Syrian activists attempting to show the world the atrocities committed by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS, a powerful group opposing the rule of Syrian government that has recently battled other opposition groups.

ISIS fighters are reportedly mostly non-Syrian extremist Muslims who have inserted themselves into the Syrian war to spread their hard line Islamic beliefs.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS,is a pro Al Qaida group jihadist group that many fear is taking an iron grip over parts of Syria.

The group was formed in April 2013 and grew out of Al Qaeda’s affiliate organization in Iraq. It has since become one of the main jihadist groups fighting government forces in Syria.

The final ‘s’ in the acronym Isis stems from the Arabic word ‘al-Sham’. This can mean the Levant, Syria or even Damascus but in the context of the global jihad it refers to the Levant.

Its precise size is unknown, but it is thought to include thousands of fighters, including many foreign jihadists.

Analysts say non-Syrians constitute a majority of Isis’s elite fighter corps and are disproportionately represented in its leadership.

It took over the city of Raqqa after Al-Nusra front terrorists overran the city in March 2013. It was the first provincial capital to fall under terrorist’s  control.

It also has a presence in a number of towns close to the Turkish border in the north of the country, and has gained a reputation for brutal rule in the areas that it controls.
The group has been operating independently of other jihadist groups such as the Nusra Front and has had a tense relationship with other terrorists in Syria.

In July, a commander of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) was reportedly shot dead by Isis fighters in the coastal province of Lattakia.

There were also reports of deadly clashes between the two groups in the north-western province of Idlib. Isis also seized the northern town of Azaz from the FSA on 18 September.

There has also been friction with other Islamists. In November 2013, ISIS was accused of killing a prominent member of the Syrian Islamist  group Ahrar al-Sham.

In the most recent sign of continuing tension, ISIS suffered losses in two days of fighting against an alliance of other terrorist forces in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

Source:  dailymail.co.uk

B.N