Shocking footage shows 'British' rebel gunman's cold-blooded execution of kneeling prisoner in Syria

Chilling footage has emerged of a man being executed in a field in Syria

Researchers believe that one of the gunmen involved is from London

The gunman is thought to be from radical group Rahat al Tawheed

The same man appears on several separate YouTube videos, say experts

Assad set to retake control of rebel stronghold Homs, after ceasefire agreed



WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE



Chilling video footage appears to show a British militant taking part in the cold-blooded execution of a prisoner loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.



The film shows a man kneeling with his feet crossed and head bowed in a field in Syria, then being shot in the back of the head by a man armed with a pistol.



Another man then fires at the prisoner with a machine gun. Researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) believe that this gunman is from London and is part of a militant group called Rahat al Tawheed (Banner of God).

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Sentenced to death: The video begins with a man pointing a pistol at the prisoner's head Chilling: After the man keels over another militant armed with an AK-47, who researchers believe is British, prepares to fire more shots Cold-blooded: The man believed to be British then fires a volley of shots into the prisoner, though it's not clear if he's already dead at this point

After analysing the physique, wristwatch and balaclava of the man with the machine gun, ICSR concluded that it’s very probably the same man seen making pronouncements in a series of Rahat al Tawheed YouTube videos.



ICSR researcher Joseph Carter told MailOnline: 'The guy with the AK-47 who fires shots into the body is in several other Rahat al Tawheed videos. On the videos the group claims to have four British brothers with them and two of those guys feature very prominently. They both wear distinctive balaclavas and big fat black watches. They're the only two who wear these watches.



'We spent a day looking at the group's YouTube videos and the footage of the execution - in which he doesn't speak - a nd concluded that the stature, balaclava and watch of the gunman matches that of the man in the other videos. We don't know the history of the man who was shot.'

Shiraz Maher, a senior researcher at the King’s College London-based ICSR said the killing of prisoners may constitute a war crime.



He told Sky News: ‘It's incredibly serious.'

Plea: In one YouTube video the British fighters ask friends and relatives back home to donate money so more arms can be bought Connection: The British militant on the left, filmed on a YouTube video urging Muslims to support jihad, is believed to be one of the gunmen that took part in the execution Extreme viewpoint: On one Rahat al Tawheed YouTube video a fighter says 'for each arrow that is thrown at the enemies of Allah, it is as though you've freed a slave'

AL QAEDA BOSS ORDERS END TO INFIGHTING BETWEEN SYRAIN REBEL GROUPS Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of Al Qaeda, has ordered its Syrian branch, the al Nusra Front, to stop fighting rival militants as divisions are 'a gift to Assad'. The pronouncement was made by the terror chief in an audiotape that was posted online. Al Zawahiri told Al Nusra's leader, Abu Mohammed al Jolani to refocus and target Syria's ruling party, the Baath, which is run by President Bashar al Assad. He said he should 'devote himself to combat the enemies of Islam, specifically Baathists, Shiites and their allies', according to Sky News.

ICSR found the footage of the killing, which took place in Raqqa in northern Syria, on the Instagram account of a man thought to be from London, and it was posted with a message describing the prisoner as ‘one of bashars [sic] dogs’.



The note claimed that the man shot was a murderer and rapist.



It continued: ‘Wallahi he testified to killing four brothers and raping a sister. The punishment was carried out by a dawlah shari'e. It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land.’

In separate videos posted to YouTube by Rahat al Tawheed, the man believed to have fired a machine gun at the prisoner is filmed urging Muslims in the UK to support the fighters and their families.



In one, he says: ‘Whoever equips a fighter or takes care of a fighter's family, it's though he has fought himself.'



He continued: ‘Brothers may have the opportunity to equip the fighter and if it's not to equip a fighter it's to look after the family of those brothers we have lost. It's not much to go to the family of a lost fighter and maybe drop 10 or 20 pounds, 40 or 50 pounds, especially if you know this woman. She is our sister. The true man that left her behind has left her behind with kids. Left to go to jihad. Where are you now, when you know this woman is in need?'



In another video the man, alongside another militant, documents the machine guns, ammunition and tactical vests that were bought using donations - and urges people back in the UK to give them money so more can be purchased.



The other fighter says: 'For each arrow that is thrown at the enemies of Allah, it is as though you've freed a slave. The brother [indicating the man to his left] shot three magazines. How many slaves is that?'

Mr Carter said the British government should be very worried about the videos being produced by Rahat al Tawheed, as they could lead to acts of terrorism.

He said: 'At the very least the major concern is that you've got British citizens producing videos inviting young people to come and fight in Syria. It's not being framed in terms of a defence narrative. It's just glorifying violence. We have to be seriously concerned about what training they have out there.



'The government should have a very thorough method of assessing people who come back. It could lead to a terrorism threat.'

A UK government spokesperson said: 'This demonstrates why we have consistently called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court. Whether this barbaric act is specifically a war crime is for a court to decide. Horrific atrocities have been committed by both the Assad regime and by extremists. The international community must ensure that all those responsible are held to account.



'We advise against all travel to Syria by British citizens. Even people travelling for well-intentioned humanitarian reasons are exposing themselves to serious risk, including being targeted for recruitment by terrorist groups. The best way to help the Syrian people is to donate to UK-registered charities that have ongoing relief operations.



'Our priority is to dissuade people from travelling, but any extremists should know we are prepared to take action to protect national security, and intelligence agencies and police are working to identify potential threats.'

On Friday Syria's government and rebels agreed to a ceasefire in the battleground city of Homs to allow hundreds of fighters holed up in its old quarters to evacuate, a move that would surrender almost total control of the city once known as the 'capital of the revolution' to forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.



The capture of Homs, Syria's third largest city, would be a significant victory for Assad, weeks before presidential elections set for June 3 - if the agreement goes through and rebel fighters leave.

