War on Isis: Jihadist 'executes' his own brother for attempting to defect

An Islamic State (Isis) militant has apparently executed his own brother for attempting to defect in the jihadists' latest propaganda video. In the the 15-minute film posted on Twitter, two men are shown being led out into a compound to be executed, in part of the extremists' clampdown on alleged spying in their ranks.

The killer, named as Abu Abdallah, says a prayer in Arabic before taking a gun and shooting a blindfolded man in the head. After the man had died Abdallah claimed that the prisoner was his sibling.

The clip, released on Sunday 12 June, continues as another man is shot dead.

Although the exact location inside Iraq cannot be confirmed, Isis has been systematically executing militants for spying and defection at an increased rate.

In May 2016, some 38 IS fighters were reportedly killed in huge vats of acid after being suspected of spying in Mosul.

Daesh (Isis) is said to have become increasingly rattled as it loses ground in Manbij, in Syria, Fallujah, in Iraq and in Sirte, Libya.

Earlier this year, 20-year-old militant Ali Saqr al-Qasem reportedly shot his mother dead after accusing her of apostasy. She had apparently been found guilty of attempting to persuade her son to abandon the self-declared caliphate and flee Syria.

Often the executions take place in public areas and the location of the execution was thought to have been near Mosul - the largest city in Iraq still under IS control.

The city is coming under increased pressure from the north, south and east from the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga forces and US-led Western airstrikes and is expected to be the location of the next big operation after Fallujah falls.

On Sunday in Fallujah, IS reportedly executed 19 of its fighters on charges of deserting the battlefield in the area of al-Shuhada. An anonymous source told Iraqi News: "The ISIS terrorist gangs executed 19 of its elements who fled from the last battles against the security forces in the neighbourhoods of al-Shuhada and al-Nassaf in central Fallujah.

"This came through the issuance of the so-called [IS] legitimate court a death sentence against [them]. The execution was carried out by firing a bullet into the head."