ISIS executes 1 in al-Bab
[ARA News] Aleppo – The Islamic State (ISIS) radical group on Friday executed a young man in the city of al-Bab in Syria’s northern Aleppo Governorate after accusing him of helping civilians evacuate the city.
Mustafa al-Hazouri, 24, was beheaded by ISIS on charges of smuggling citizens to areas beyond the group’s control.
“He was captured by ISIS militants while helping a group of civilians escape from al-Bab,” a local source told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The extremist group publicly executed al-Hazouri in central al-Bab.
“They wanted to punish him because the group has banned the people of al-Bab from leaving the city under any circumstances,” another source told ARA News.
This comes amid fears of ISIS using civilians as human shields in al-Bab, where fighting continued between the group and rebel factions of the Euphrates Shield Brigades.
Last week, ISIS executed Abdulkarim al-Hassan, a truck driver, for trying to smuggle three families out of Raqqa. “Al-Hassan was caught by the militants near the western exit of Raqqa. He was hiding three families from Raqqa inside his truck, apparently trying to smuggle them to areas held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),” local media activist Muhammad Murdam told ARA News, citing ISIS officials.
The pro-ISIS Sharia Court of Raqqa decided to execute and crucify the man on charges of treason and apostasy. In front of hundreds of people, al-Hassan was executed by firing squad and his body was crucified on an electricity pole, eyewitnesses told ARA News.
ISIS supplants local officials with their own
[ARA News] Raqqa – The radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) has promoted a number of foreign jihadists to leading positions in Syria’s northeastern Raqqa Governorate, to replace senior local jihadists.
The Islamic State named Abu Saraqeb al-Maghribi, a Moroccan, as Head of Security in Tabqa city in Raqqa Governorate, an informed source told ARA News, adding that al-Maghribi was promoted after the Syrian head of security in Tabqa was arrested by ISIS on corruption charges.
ISIS has also named an Egyptian, known as Abu Jandal al-Masri, as Chief of Information in Raqqa. Al-Masri replaced the Syrian jihadist Abu Ahmed al-Souri at the request of the ISIS supreme leader al-Baghdadi.
Furthermore, the group has replaced another Syrian official with an Algerian, called Abu Muhammad al-Jazrawi. Al-Jazrawi was named as Chief of Hisba –or Islamic Police.
Jawad al-Ali, a Syrian political analyst, told ARA News that promoting foreign jihadists to such leading positions “shows that ISIS no longer trusts its local members.”
ISIS has recently executed dozens of people, including its own militants, on charges of spying for hostile forces in Syria.
“The Islamic State tries to take some preventive steps in a bid to avoid any breaches in its security institutions in Raqqa [ISIS’ de facto capital],” al-Ali said.
“However, isolating Syrian jihadist leaders in this way may lead to a serious internal conflict within the group,” he told ARA News.
This comes amid an ongoing military campaign by the SDF, backed by an air cover from the US-led coalition, as part of the second phase of the Euphrates Wrath Operation for Raqqa. The SDF has so far captured over 1400 km² in western Raqqa within the second phase of the operation, that started on December 10. During the first phase of Euphrates Wrath, that was launched on November 6, the SDF captured roughly 560 km² of land in northern Raqqa.
The SDF launched the second phase of the Euphrates Wrath Operation with the objective of securing Raqqa’s western countryside and Tabqa Dam, which bridges the Euphrates River. The long-term objective of Euphrates Wrath is the elimination of the Islamic State in its de facto capital, Raqqa city.