In what is being seen as a desperate tactic by the Islamic State (ISIS) militants to deflect the attention from their defeat in Tal Abyad (Syria), the group released a new beheading photo from Qalamoun on Tuesday.
The graphic images released on Twitter show an Isis militant dressed in black carrying out a jihadi John-style execution of a captured Jaish al Islam fighter.
Intelligence gathering group SITE identified the slain Syrian rebel fighter as Abdullah Baseer Anis, the official responsible for ammunition depots of Jaish al Islam in Eastern Qalamoun.
The Daily Mail report said the new beheading photo released by the Isis was a "desperate attempt to deflect attention away" from the "embarrassing defeat in Tal Abyad".
The high-resolution, brutal execution images show a masked Isis militant brandishing a hunting knife. The militant is then seen forcing down the face of the Jaish al Islam fighter on the ground and then suddenly yanking it up before running the knife through his throat.
It ends with the militant standing over the decapitated body of the slain fighter, whose face is seen covered in blood. The high-resolution imaging of the execution suggests that the Isis could be planning on releasing a video of the beheading as well.
Reports on Tuesday confirmed that the Kurdish militia, backed by Syrian rebel forces, has taken over the key border town from the Isis. Monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Telegraph that the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) was in "full control" of Tal Abyad.
"Since dawn this morning, not a single bullet has been fired in Tal Abyad," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"The Kurdish fighters now have full control of Tal Abyad," he said.
Tal Abyad was being used by Isis as a key route from Turkey to travel towards its de facto capital Raqqa to the south.
YPG and its allies claim that before fleeing, the Isis fighters had laid landmines on the roads and booby-trapped cars. The group has said that it will allow all local residents to return to their homes after it cleared the area of the landmines and the cars.
