New ISIS Video Shows 2 Turkish Soldiers Being Burned Alive

By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, December 25, 2016

A destroyed building with a wall painted with the black flag commonly used by Islamic State militants, is seen in the town of al-Alam, March 10, 2015. Iraqi troops and militias drove Islamic State insurgents out of al-Alam on Tuesday, clearing a final hurdle before a planned assault on Saddam Hussein's home city of Tikrit in their biggest offensive yet against the ultra-radical group. | (Photo: Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani)

The Islamic State terror group has released and circulated a new video purportedly showing two uniformed Turkish soldiers being forced to crawl and then burned alive in northern Syria. In response, Turkey has blocked social media sites in the country, according to reports.

The 19-minute video shows the soldiers, their heads shaven and their uniforms apparently doused in fuel, being hauled from a cage before being bound and torched in a desert, according to Al Jazeera, which also said the footage was supposedly shot in the Islamic State-declared "Aleppo Province."

The video begins with footage showing fighters of the Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, on the ground. The killer of the two soldiers later criticizes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has vowed to fight terror in Syria, and calls for "destruction to be sowed" in Turkey.

ISIS released a video showing caged Kurdish soldiers being paraded on Iraqi streets. | Screenshot

Soon after IS began to spread the video on social media, Turkish authorities blocked social media sites, including Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, according to Turkey Blocks, a website that identifies and validates reports of internet mass-censorship events.

"The blocks each appear to be implemented at the ISP level, with each provider applying its own controls, hence some users may be partly or fully unaffected," the website reported. "The shutdown is the second in a week, with another similar blackout following the assassination of Russia's ambassador to Turkey."

IS recently developed a mobile application to indoctrinate young children in Iraq and Syria by allowing them to blow up Western landmarks, including Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty in 9/11 style attacks.

The U.S.-led coalition recently intensified its fight to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces retake IS strongholds in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria. It released 3,038 weapons in October and 2,709 in November, according to the Air Force Times, which also said that those 5,747 weapons released represent the coalition's busiest two-month stretch against IS in 2016.

IS is using locals as human shields in Mosul, which is delaying the retaking of the city.

The terror group uses brutal methods to torture and punish those who it considers to be its enemies, including Muslims who do not believe in its version of Islam. Christians and other minorities are among its main targets.