Jihadist 'executed' own mother for pleading with him to quit Isil

Ali Saqr al-Qasem. Photo: Twitter

Richard Spencer

January 09 2016 02:30 AM

An Isil jihadist executed his own mother in public after she tried to persuade him to quit the militant group, according to reports.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria from London, said that a number of reliable local sources told it of the killing, which took place on Wednesday.

Activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) also reported the incident.

It said that Ali Saqr al-Qasem, (20), shot his mother, Leena, in the head with an assault rifle in front of a large crowd.

It is believed that Leena (35), who lived in the town of Tabqa, near Isil's capital Raqqa, but was originally from the coast, told her son she wanted to leave and wanted him to come with her.

He reported her to the group. "She was executed under the pretext of 'inciting her son to leave the Islamic State and escaping together to the outside of Raqqa, and that the Coalition will kill all members of the organisation," the Observatory reported.

Her son executed her near the main post office building, where she worked.

Hundreds of people gathered to witness the killing, as is common with such events.

Isil have executed a number of women in recent weeks, including Ruqia Hassan, a "citizen journalist" from Raqqa who reported on life inside the town on her Facebook page. She disappeared in July, and her family were informed of her death on January 2.

At the weekend, the group also posted video online of five Isil "'executioners", led by a man with a British accent, killing five men for passing information to the activist group RBSS.

The killings may be connected to widespread reports that Isil is suffering a crisis of morale, with many foreign fighters trying to escape and return home.

Apostasy

The Observatory reported on December 29 that Isil had executed more than 2,000 Syrian civilians in the 18 months since it declared its 'caliphate' over the territory it controls in Syria and Iraq.

They included people killed on the grounds of homosexuality, practising magic and apostasy.

It was not possible to independently verify the latest report.