A ginger-bearded Islamic State (ISIS) fanatic, who is known as the "Red Beard," has ordered the beheading of an elderly prisoner after accusing him of being a "wizard" and a "practitioner of magic."
The jihadist group released several photos of the execution, according to The Daily Mail. In one photo, the ginger-bearded militant is seen using a microphone as he reads out the elderly man's charges in a town square near Damascus, Syria.
Another photo shows the blindfolded elderly pensioner being held down over a wooden chopping block by two more militants while one man raises his arms getting ready for the beheading.
A crowd of men and boys watch as the executioner wields his sword and decapitates the prisoner. The last photo shows the corpse of the man with his severed head placed on top of his torso.
For now, the nationality of the ginger-bearded jihadist remains unknown. But the execution was carried out by the ISIS-affiliated Khalid Bin Al-Walid Army. The group was formed back in May when several radical groups merged, enabling them to control a strip of territory south of the Syrian capital.
The ISIS affiliate is named after Khalid ibn al-Walid, a historical figure who led the Muslim armies in the Battle of Yarmouk in the year 636 and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Christian army.
The photos released by ISIS were part of a report called the "Implementation of the law of Allah in the presence of Muslims." Like many other ISIS executions, the barbaric act took place in public with dozens of onlookers.
Meanwhile, the ISIS executed one of its leading commanders in western Mosul for still unknown reasons, a local source said on Thursday amid reports of increasing rifts within the group's ranks, Iraqi News reported.
"Daesh (Islamic State) have executed their emir of Zangili, west of Mosul, after storming his residence, dragging him out to a public square and shooting him dead," the source told Alsumaria News, claiming that the the execution was carried out as per directives by the group's supreme commander, Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Local sources said earlier this month that divisions grew among ISIS fighters after Baghdadi excluded Iraqi fighters from commanding the current battles with Iraqi government and other coalition forces, instead assigning foreign fighters to take the lead.
Tensions rose further on Wednesday when the son of a senior commander was reportedly assassinated in Tal Afar, an ISIS stronghold in Mosul, with local fighters within the group suspected to be behind the killing.
