Islamic State militants hacked the Facebook account of a female journalist they had executed, reportedly keeping her death a secret for months so they could pose as her to trap her friends and colleagues.

ISIS killed 30-year-old Ruqia Hassan in September, accusing her of spying for the Free Syrian Army, a moderate rebel group. But her death wasn't confirmed until three months later.

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During that time, the ISIS militants hacked Hassan's Facebook account to talk with her friends and gather information on other journalists and activists, according to The Independent. The Islamic State has claimed the Syrian city of Raqqa as its capital and had brutally gone after dissenters, publicly executing activists and anyone who resist their rule.

News of the death of Hassan, who went by the pen name Nissan Ibrahim, was confirmed on Twitter by members of the activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. One of the group's members tweeted what he said were Hassan's last words.

1-the last words from Nissan Ibrahim Syrian activist who got executed by #ISIS was " im in Raqqa and I received pic.twitter.com/LNUHad0aYm — Abu Mohammed (@Raqqa_sl1) January 2, 2016

#Raqqa 2-"Death threats and when #ISIS will Arrest me and kill me its ok Because they will cut my head and i have Dignity its better than" — Abu Mohammed (@Raqqa_sl1) January 2, 2016

Hassan studied philosophy at the University of Aleppo, and supported the opposition to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after the nation's civil war began in 2011.

She stayed in Raqqa after the Islamic State took over, posting messages on Facebook about music, the problems facing her city, and daily life under militant rule. When the Islamic State tried to ban Wi-Fi hotspots in the city, she showed off her dark humor on Facebook.

"Go ahead and cut off the Internet, our messenger pigeons won't complain," she wrote.

But her public Facebook posts appeared to stop on July 21.

Members of the Islamic State reportedly captured her in August and held for some time before executing her.

Militants, however, used her account to send messages, communicating with her friends as late as last week, according to The Independent, who cited a member of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently.

Members of the group did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment.