ISIS Unveils its Osama Bin Laden School in Syria as the Islamist Group Continues its Reign of Terror in Rebel-Held Parts of the Country with Beheadings for ‘Blasphemy’ and ‘Sorcery’
- Islamic State militants have set up 'Osama Bin Laden' school in Manbij, Syria
- Facility has already started religious instruction classes for town residents
- Students being taught about Islamic State's extremist brand of Sharia Law
- Comes as pictures emerge of beheadings in ISIS strongold of Raqqa, Syria
- Civilians had been sentenced to death for 'cursing God' and 'sorcery'
- Photos show a large all-male crowd with children also watching execution
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Daily Mail UK, 4 November 2014
Islamic State extremists have set up a new learning centre in Syria dubbed 'Osama Bin Laden' school.
The religious school, named after the mastermind of the the 9/11 attacks and former leader of Al Qaeda, has been set up in a town held by ISIS militants.
It comes as new pictures emerged showing the beheading of three civilians in Raqqa, another of Islamic State’s strongholds in the war-torn country.
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Brutal: Pictures have emerged showing the beheading of three civilians in Raqqa, one of Islamic State’s strongholds in Syria
Disturbing: An executioner holds his sword aloft as armed guards watch on in front of an all-male crowd
The public executions were carried out with the victims accused of 'cursing God' and committing 'sorcery'.
The school has been opened in Manbij, a small ISIS held town in northern Syria.
The facility has already started religious instruction classes for residents living in the town, offering classes in Islamic State’s extremist brand of Sharia law.
A short propaganda video was also released by the provincial media branch of Islamic State.
The five minute film, entitled 'Sharia Educational Session for the Teachers', features brief interviews with a few residents of Manbij, discussing their opinions about the apparent positive benefits of the new religious school.
Manbij was once a Free Syrian Army (FSA) stronghold before it was overrun by ISIS.
Several young children can be seen watching from the front of the crowd while a number of masked gunmen also appear to be standing guard, monitoring the execution
The three civilians were reportedly put to death in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa for 'cursing God' and 'sorcery'
Fierce fighting with the FSA forced ISIS into its first withdrawal in January 2014. However the extremist group regrouped and re-captured the strategic town 18 days later.
Kurdish forces have repeatedly tried to capture the town but have come up short against tough Islamic State resistance.
The Kurds have recently called upon the Free Syrian Army to join them in their efforts to re-take Manbij.
In a rare act of defiance, locals in Manbij even demonstrated against Islamic State in May 2014, angered at the militant group’s harsh rule of governance over the city.
However the town remains under control of the extremist group.
Any rare acts of rebellion or questioning of Islamic State have always been brutally dealt with by the extremist group.
Recent photos of the execution of three civilians for 'cursing God' and 'sorcery' epitomise the brutal regime being maintained by Islamic State.
The victims were beheaded in front of a crowd of Muslims 'to serve as a deterrent to those who dare to criticise Allah,' it has been reported.
Shelling continues in major Syrian cities
An IS fighter, wearing a black balaclava, reads out the victims' crimes through a small black handheld microphone
The images show a large all-male crowd standing near a square in the city, where corporal punishments, like beheadings and crucifixions, have previously been carried out for crimes against the Islamic State
The images show a large all-male crowd standing near the main square in Raqqa, where corporal punishments, like beheadings and crucifixions, have previously been carried out for crimes against the Islamic State.
Several young children can be seen watching from the front of the crowd while a number of masked gunmen also appear to be standing guard, monitoring the execution.
One photo shows an IS fighter, wearing a black balaclava, reading out the victims' crimes through a small black handheld microphone.
All three of the victims are shown wearing a red blindfold and have their hands tied behind their back.
They appear to have been individually led to the execution block, a crude hand cut log with a raised notch for the victims to rest their head on.
A religious school, named after former Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden (pictured), has been set up in a town in Syria held by ISIS militants
The black flag of Islamic State can be seen flying from a tall flag pole in the background, near one of the main streets.
The executor is masked and wearing a pair of sandy-coloured military issue boots.
The photos show the executioner holding a curved sword above his head.
A small blood trail can be seen near the back of a nearby pick up truck. Its white boot has been left open so the bodies can be taken away from the execution site.
Like Minbaj, Raqqa has been one of the main bombing targets by the US-led coalition last month.
The headquarters of Islamic State were reportedly bombed yesterday in Raqqa.
The building, situated in the southern part of the city had been evacuated and no militants were reported to have been killed in the nine air strikes on the city.
Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the air strikes with the British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting that the recent strikes on Manbij had been a failure.
Shelling Continues in Major Syrian Cities
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UN Report says 'Unprecedented' Number of Jihadists are Flocking to Join ISIS... Partly Thanks to the Terror Group's Love of Posting Kitten Photos on Twitter
- 15,000 fighters from 80 countries have flocked to fight in Iraq and Syria
- Numbers joining since 2010 exceed total from previous 20 years 'many times'
- Jihadists from France, Russia and UK are operating together, says UN study
- There are believed to be about 500 British nationals fighting in Syria and Iraq
Foreign jihadists from more than 80 countries have flocked to fight in Iraq and Syria on an 'unprecedented scale', according to extracts of a UN report.
Around 15,000 people have travelled to fight alongside Islamic State (ISIS) and other hardcore militant groups from 'countries that have not previously faced challenges relating to Al Qaeda,' it said.
The study found a new breed of terrorist was being attracted by the extremist group's 'cosmopolitan' use of social media, pointing to examples when jihadists posted 'kitten photographs' on Twitter.
Cute: A UN report says 'unprecedented' numbers of jihadists are flocking to join ISIS in part thanks to the terror group's love of posting kitten photos on Twitter like this one on an account called Islamic State of Cat
Big softy: This picture posted by the Islamic State of Cat shows a kitten next to two AK-47 machine guns
The UN study found a new breed of terrorist was being attracted by the extremist group's 'cosmopolitan' use of social media, pointing to examples when jihadists posted 'kitten photographs' on Twitter
ISIS leaders recognise 'the terror and recruitment value of multi-channel, multi-language social and other media messaging,' it added.
The number of foreign jihadists travelling to fight since 2010 exceeds the cumulative total of the 20 preceding years 'many times', the Security Council study found.
'There are instances of foreign terrorist fighters from France, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland operating together,' the report said, according to the Guardian.
Britain's top police officer, Bernard Hogan-Howe, estimated last week that five people a week were leaving the country to fight with ISIS.
Security officials estimate there are currently around 500 British nationals fighting in Syria and Iraq.
A cat takes a rest among the parts of an assault rifle
The UN report said ISIS leaders recognise 'the terror and recruitment value of multi-channel, multi-language social and other media messaging'
Dozens have been arrested for preparing to leave to join the IS group or helping others to do so.
France is also moving closer to adopting an 'anti-terrorism' law which would slap a travel ban on anyone suspected of planning to wage jihad.
The UN warned that more nations than ever face the problem of dealing with fighters returning from the battle zone.
The US Central Intelligence Agency last month announced figures showing that there were around 20,000 to 31,500 ISIS fighters active in Iraq and Syria, much higher than previous estimates.
Around 15,000 people have travelled to fight alongside Islamic State (ISIS) and other hardcore militant groups from 'countries that have not previously faced challenges relating to Al Qaeda,' the report said
The UN found that foreign fighters preferred ISIS's use of social media and were put off by the more dogmatic communication tactics of Al Qaeda
A US security official estimated that there were close to 2,000 westerners among the 15,000 foreign fighters.
Previous figures showed there were 7,000 foreign jihadists fighting in March and 12,000 in July suggesting 1,000 a month were travelling to fight, despite the launch of U.S. air strikes three months ago, although there is a lag of a few weeks in the figures.
The report was produced by a committee that monitors Al Qaeda and concluded that the once mighty and feared group was now 'maneuvering for relevance' following the rise of the even more militant ISIS, which was booted out of Al Qaeda by leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Despite the split, the UN concluded that the legal basis for US President Barack Obama's fight against ISIS was justified by its ideological congruence with Al Qaeda and considered the two groups as part of a broader movement.
Huge support: Fighters from the Islamic State march through their stronghold of Raqqa in Syria
'Al Qaeda core and Isil (ISIS) pursue similar strategic goals, albeit with tactical differences regarding sequencing and substantive differences about personal leadership,' the UN wrote.
Obama has vowed he will not order a large force into combat in Iraq or Syria, relying instead on air power and local forces.
But his 'no boots on the ground' pledge is coming under pressure amid growing calls for advisers and forward air controllers to deploy with Iraqi or Kurdish soldiers to help direct air raids and plan operations.
The ISIS group's 'cosmopolitan' use of social media, 'as when extremists post kitten photographs', was attracting a new breed of foreign fighters who are put off by the more dogmatic communication tactics of Al Qaeda, said the report.
The UN agreed with the Obama administration that 'core al-Qaeda remains weak', but argued that its demise had only paved the way for more bloody groups, for whom 'cross-border attacks - or attacks against international targets - remain a minority.'