The leader of Islamic State banned his followers from releasing any more of the gruesome videos for which the group has become known, Kurdish and Arab media reported on Friday.

According to the reports, which cited pro-ISIS media websites, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi issued an edict to the group's media offices in which he voiced concern that the videos, which feature execution of captives by beheading, shooting squad, explosives strapped around the neck, and fiery cages, may offend fellow Muslims and children "who find such images repulsive."

According to the International Business Times, citing the Al-Quds al-Arabi daily, al-Baghdadi told the media offices that videos featuring beheadings should only show the initial slitting of the throat and the severed head, but not the beheading itself.

According to the Kurdish news agency ARA, some ISIS militants rejected the edict, saying the videos are a powerful tool to intimidate the group's enemies.

It is unclear when al-Baghdadi issued the edict, but according to the New Indian Express, it is believed to have been in recent weeks. The latest execution video, released by the group on Friday and purporting to show a young boy beheading a Syrian soldier in the Syrian city of Palmyra, seemed to follow the new guidline, the Express reported.

ISIS's graphic videos first caught the world's attention with the advent of so-called "Jihadi John," a black-clad militant seen executing captives on several videos released since 2014. Though the first videos showed mostly beheadings and execution by shooting squad, subsequent releases were increasingly more shocking.

 
http://www.haaretz.com/mobile/1.666638

motherfuckers

End time