(Iraq) Islamic terrorists in Syria linked to al-Qaeda have asked for "understanding and forgiveness" for cutting off and putting on display the wrong man's head.
In a public appearance filmed and posted online, members of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, one brandishing a knife, held up a bearded head before a crowd in Aleppo. They triumphantly described the execution of what they said was a member of an Iraqi Shia militia fighting for President Bashar al-Assad. But the head was recognised from the video as belonging to Mohammed Fares, a member of Ahrar al-Sham, a Sunni terrorist group that often fights alongside ISIS, though it does not share its al-Qaeda ideology.
I'm sure the victim and his family are more than happy to accept this honest mistake. I mean, it's nothing to lose your head over, is it?
In a public appearance filmed and posted online, members of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, one brandishing a knife, held up a bearded head before a crowd in Aleppo. They triumphantly described the execution of what they said was a member of an Iraqi Shia militia fighting for President Bashar al-Assad. But the head was recognised from the video as belonging to Mohammed Fares, a member of Ahrar al-Sham, a Sunni terrorist group that often fights alongside ISIS, though it does not share its al-Qaeda ideology.
![]() |
Mohammed Fares, left, who was mistakenly decapitated by Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham terrorists |