Two days ago, Islamic
State militants ISIS released a video purportedly showing this little
boy executing a captured Israeli-Arab soldier, 19 year old Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam.
But now, after reviewing the footage, some security experts believe the
boy was only used for propaganda and wasn't the one who pulled the
trigger
The experts said heavy editing used to produce the film means it is likely he never
pulled the trigger himself and was instead filmed only for scenes to be
edited in and around Mr Musallam's death.
The
film shows Mr Musallam describing how he was sent by Israeli
intelligence to infiltrate ISIS in Syria, where the group claim he was
captured last year.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, the hostage is later seen kneeling at the feet of two uniformed militants..
The
film, like many ISIS execution videos, cuts away without actually
showing his killing, and the scene purporting to show the moment of
execution is filmed from behind the shooter to avoid identifying him.
During
this scene, the shooter's hand is visible and it clearly appears to be
one which belongs to an adult, not a 10-year-old boy.
It
also replicates the editing techniques seen in a video released last
month in which the extremists claimed a boy had killed two Russian
spies.
The authenticity of this can also be seriously questioned given a complete lack of evidence implicating the child.
Instead
of a shocking child-murder, all signs point to the video being a
product of the ISIS propaganda machine aimed at luring disillusioned
westerners to join their ranks.
Earlier
yesterday Twitter accounts linked to the terror group shared preview
clips of the video, which have not been independently verified.
Islamic
State claimed Mr Musallam had posed as a foreign fighter when he joined
their ranks last year but later confessed to being an agent for Mossad,
the Israeli intelligence agency.
Sickening: Mr Musallam appears to be shot three more times as he lies dying on the ground
Slick: In the first part of the video, Mr Musallam is seen describing how he was recruited by Israeli intelligence
It starts
with an animated 'fact file' of Mr Musallam - complete with what appears
to be a picture of the inside of his passport - that claims to show his
home address and profession.
The
video, apparently filmed on a number of cameras, shows Mr Musallam
wearing an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by hostages featured in
previous ISIS videos.
Speaking
in Arabic, the young man remains calm and controlled as he tells of how
he was recruited by a neighbour who worked for the Israeli police. The
entire video is subtitled in English.
He
says that his father and brother both encouraged him to take up the
position, pointing out there would be opportunity to progress in the
organisation.
The parents of Israeli-Arab
Muhammad Musallam sit next to a framed portrait of their son, who was
captured by ISIS for allegedly spying for Mossad. They claimed he fled
to Syria to join Islamic State militants
This image was purportedly taken of Muhammad Musallam on the
Syrian-Turkish border several weeks after he left to join jihadists
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