News / Politics

Iran slams execution of French priest, Syrian boy

Thursday, 28 July 2016 2:24 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 28 July 2016 2:41 PM ]

A man walks past floral tributes and a note including a picture of French priest Jacques Hamel, killed during a hostage-taking claimed by Daesh, in front of his house on July 28, 2016 in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, northern France. ©AFP

Iran has condemned the recent beheading of a French priest and a Syrian boy by Takfiri terrorists, calling on the world community to join forces in combating terrorism.

“Along with all wakeful consciences in the human society, we are equally upset by these inhumane, barbaric and detestable acts,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Thursday.

He added that such crimes are rooted in the “deviant” ideologies generated by the founding fathers of the Takfiri Daesh and al-Qaeda terror groups, stressing that such “savage behavior” is despicable and must be condemned regardless of the location.

Such criminal acts are meant to pit world nations against each other and wage sectarian wars, the Iranian official added.

“We have always emphasized that the world should unite in fighting terrorism and focus on the elimination of terrorist ideologies by relying on a joint international resolve and closer global cooperation.”

A picture of late Father Jacques Hamel is placed on flowers at the makeshift memorial in front of the city hall closed to the church where a hostage-taking left the priest dead in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, France, July 27, 2016. ©AP

On July 26, knife-wielding assailants interrupted a French church service in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a town near Rouen, northwest of the French capital, Paris.

They forced the 85-year-old parish priest, Father Jacques Hamel, to his knees and slit his throat. Three other worshippers were held hostage until the attackers were shot by police.

Amaq, a news outlet affiliated to Daesh, said in a statement that two of its elements were behind the assault.

The act of terror came days after a video surfaced online, showing the terrorists in Syria cutting off a small boy’s head with a knife on a public road in a militant-held area in Aleppo Province.

The still image taken from a video released on July 19, 2016 shows a boy, who was beheaded by US-backed Syria terrorists in Aleppo.

The brutal murder was carried out by members of Nureddin al-Zenki militant group, which has received military support channeled from Turkey, including US-made anti-tank missiles.

The US-backed militants accused the victim, identified as Mahmoud Issa, of being a spy and a member of al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement.

However, the group strongly denied that the 12-year-old Palestinian boy was a member.

Reacting to the murder, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif lashed out at the West for its “deafening” silence on the atrocities committed by the Western-backed militants in Syria.

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