Militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have shot dead an Iraqi journalist in the northern city of Mosul on charges of espionage.

The 27-year old Jalal al-Abadi, was abducted from his home on June 4 and held in captivity ever since before he was brutally executed by ISIS firing squad.

Abadi was accused of leaking information about the jihadi group to government-run media and national press.

Mosul, now ISIS stronghold in Iraq, was captured by the terrorist organization on June 2014. The city was then run by a strict Sharia law.

Abadi, who has been working in journalism and filming for over a decade, left his home in Mosul since the city fell to the hardline militants.

Earlier this he returned but could not be reunited with his two kids.

Reporters in the ISIS-held Mosul now must swear allegiance to the organization if they want to obtain the approval for their reports. The group tries to tighten security measures on media in order to prevent information about its security facilities to be leaked out to ‘hostile’ parties.

Abadi is believed to be the 15th journalist to have been executed by ISIS militants in Mosul.

In a related context, ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has issued a decree banning his fighters from publishing violent executions footage to ‘spare the feelings of fellow Muslims and their children’.