News / Syria

Daesh beheads five Russians over espionage charges

Wednesday, 09 December 2015 9:37 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 10 December 2015 2:42 AM ]

A screen capture from a video released by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group on December 2, 2015, purportedly showing the execution of an alleged Russian spy

Daesh has reportedly beheaded five unidentified Russian nationals accused of spying on the Takfiri terrorist group.

“The five Russian spies were beheaded after providing information on an organized network of spies,” a media worker with links to the terrorist group in the Syrian city of Raqqah was quoted by ARA News as saying on Wednesday.

He added that “their identities were not uncovered because Daesh’s leadership tries to pursue other members of this network before they escape,” and noted that Daesh is now trying to capture all Russian spies who have infiltrated their ranks.

On December 2, Daesh released a propaganda video showing the beheading of an alleged Russian spy, Magomed Khasiyev, in Raqqah by a Russian Daesh member identified as Anatoly Zemlyanka.

Before being executed, the prisoner claimed to be a Russian national from the Chechen Republic, and said he joined Daesh to spy for the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2014.

The executions happened after Russia started attacking Daesh targets in Syria upon a request by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on September 30.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and left over one million injured, according to the United Nations.

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