Executed Prisoners Discovered at Al Qaeda BaseUpdated January 8
After a Retreat by Al Qaeda, a Grim Discovery in Aleppo
Video posted online Wednesday shows a grim discovery made by rebels after they seized a facility in Aleppo used by the Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: the bodies of prisoners who appeared to have been executed before the group's retreat. The bodies of at least nine men lay in pools of blood on a stretch of rubble-strewn pavement. Some were blindfolded, and all appeared to have their hands tied behind their backs. Rebel fighters stood around them, saying prayers.
This video was posted to a YouTube account associated with antigovernment activists in Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, reported on Wednesday that 274 people had died in four days of fighting between rebels and Al Qaeda. It said both sides had executed prisoners. |
We do not know the total number of prisoners that may have been executed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria at this facility in Aleppo. We do not know the identity of these men, or how they came to be in the group's custody. We do not know the identity of the person who filmed this video. |
Other videos posted to YouTube show similar scenes of executed prisoners at this location in Aleppo. This video was posted to the same YouTube account as the lead video in this post and shows more executed prisoners. Another very graphic video shows a large number of executed prisoners. |
#AleppoMediaCentre: About 300 prisoner have been released out of ISIS headquarter , right after being taken by... http://t.co/7DhPSBoGZw
Aleppo Media Centre @AMCEnglish Twitter 8 days ago
#Syria: more than 50 members of ISIS taken prisoner in #Raqqa; held by Ahrar ash-Sham; includes those driving cars taken from Ahfad al-Rasul
Aymenn J Al-Tamimi @ajaltamimi Twitter 11 days ago