ISIS video shows desecrated Christian cemetery
A member of the Islamic State has desecrated a Christian graveyard in Syria, as shown in a video believed to have been released by the terror group, otherwise known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh.
The graphic footage, which many might find offensive and upsetting, features a man on crutches, apparently showing a Christian cemetery located in the city of Deir ez-Zor in Syria. According to Mail Online, the man in military clothing was showing off the damage he had done as the camera pans to show a destroyed graveyard. Coffins are shown, while the grave marker on a raised tomb beside the man is broken.
The video then shows bodies of dead people, apparently those killed for trying to stop the desecration. One body is shown outdoors, while others are inside a room. In the room are what look like clothing scattered around, and one of its walls appears to have been blasted. The Mail Online report says there seem to be body parts scattered.
The video, which was allegedly taken in Wilayat Al Khayr, was reportedly released by Amaq News Agency -- the only news agency operating in IS-controlled areas -- on IS terror channels on May 16. Heavy quotes the agency as saying, "Islamic State fighters assault the Christian cemetery west of Deir ez-Zor city, killing 10 Syrian regime soldiers after being besieged there since yesterday."
Wilayat Al Khayr is a province along the border between Syria and Iraq. It was reportedly a center of IS activity in 2014, where the jihadists massacred somewhere around 900 Al-Shaitat tribe members in the Deir ez-Zor governorate.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Syrian Arab Army announced that more than 200 members of the Islamic State were killed during a three-day offensive in Deir ez-Zor. According to the AhlulBayt News Agency, ISIS lost some field commanders as well as a huge number of combatants; while the Syrian forces lost 41 fighters.