Isis fighter 'killed in Syria' days after release of propaganda 'execution' video featuring child

The boy in the video is believed to be as young as 10

Video posted online by Isis propagandists appears to show the execution of what the group claims are two Russian spies by a young child

An Isis fighter who appeared in a propaganda video purporting to show a young boy executing two men presented as “Russian spies”, has reportedly been killed in the Syrian city of Kobane.

The man, believed to be Abu Sa'ad al-Daghistani, appears in the video apparently showing the shooting of two men which he claims “confessed to being Russian spies” paid to gather information for their government.

Al-Daghistani says in the video that the men are now “in the custody of the lion cubs of the caliphate”, before the child, thought to be no older than 10, steps forward and appears to shoot the hostages.

The fighter is described online as a fighter and an ISIS intelligence commander, MailOnline reported.

Entitled Uncovering the Enemy Within, the video was released earlier this week through Isis’ official outlet al-Hayat Media which specialising in creating propaganda to be viewed internationally, and features captions in Arabic and English.

As reports have not been independently verified, it is unclear how the man died. It is unknown where he was from - although his name suggests he was from Dagestan.

Charlie Winter, a researcher of jihadism in Syria and Iraq at the Quilliam Foundation, tweeted via his personal account that Isis, which calls itself the Islamic State (IS), reported that Abu Sa'ad al-Daghistani had died.

Mr Winter told The Independent that while the apparent executions could not be independently verified, it is significant that a child appeared in the video, and represented a “departure from past norms”.

“Whether it is real or staged, [Isis] used a young child in this video for the shock factor, and the shock factor alone.

“Its propagandists have done it before – showing images of children training as soldiers and being kicked in the stomach in martial arts drills – but this latest video marks a departure from past norms,” he said.

The reports come as Syrian rebels and government forces began observing a 10-day truce in the last rebel-held area of the central city of Homs, marking another setback for opposition fighters, activists said.

Activist Beibars al-Tilawi said officials promised to allow the UN to deliver more food while the two sides discussed how to end the standoff. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the truce.

Western-backed rebels have been retreating in northern Syria for months, caught between government forces on one side and jihadi groups like the Islamic State and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front on the other.