ISIS militant ‘publicly executes own mother’ in Raqqa

An Islamic State militant reportedly carried out a public "execution" of his mother in Raqqa, Syria, after she asked him to leave the group.

Citing local eyewitnesses, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Ali Saqr, 21, killed his mother, Lena al-Qasem, 45, on Wednesday outside the post office in Raqqa, which has served as ISIS’ de facto capital since they seized control of the city in August 2013.

Lena al-Qasem had reportedly told her son that the US-led military alliance fighting IS would "wipe out" the group, and tried to convince him to leave the city with her. However, her son then informed the group of her comment, who then ordered her execution.

Ali Saqr is reported to have shot her outside the post office where she worked, in front of hundreds of people.

The resident said ISIS told people that the woman was killed for apostasy.

“This was the first time someone has executed his own mother,” he said. “People are shocked that someone can kill his mother in such cold blood. He was known to be a bad apple but nobody imagined he would go so far as to kill his own mother. Everybody is asking how they could have brainwashed him so much.”

ISIS, which controls large swaths of land in Syria and Iraq, has killed hundeds of people it has accused of working with its enemies or breaching its ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam.

The Observatory reported on 29 December that ISIS had killed over 2,000 Syrian civilians in the 18 months since it declared a caliphate over its territory. These included people killed on the grounds of homosexuality, practicing magic and apostasy.

Activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently claimed this week that journalist Ruqia Hussan had been killed for writing about life in the city since it became an ISIS stronghold, as well as for documenting the coalition air strikes against the militant group.