IS burns two Turkey soldiers to death

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - The Islamic State (IS) group released online an execution video on Thursday purporting to show the burning alive to death of two Turkish soldiers in captivity.

The 18 minutes-long video criticizes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government for launching the ongoing Euphrates Shield against the IS in northern Syria and opening the Incirlik Air Base to the United States-led Coalition aircrafts operating in Iraq and Syria.

The US-based SITE Intelligence Group which monitors militant organizations online verified the video, as there was still no comment by the Turkish government and army at the time of publishing this report.

Mainstream Turkish news websites and TV channels failed to report, as state Internet regulators blocked access to social media and video sharing platforms according to the Internet censorship watchdog 'Turkey Blocks.'

No date or location for the execution was specified in the video, save for the name of the Aleppo Governorate where al-Bab is, the town Turkish troops supporting the Free Syrian Army (FSA) units have been pressing to capture for weeks now.

The uniformed servicemen shoved out of a cage with their necks in iron leashes are identified as Sefer Tas, a conscript and Fethi Sahin who says he is a member of Turkish military intelligence.

A Turkish-speaking, unidentified IS militant calls for jihadist attacks in Turkey, before remotely starting a fire that would burn the chained captives.

Sahin's name or case had not been heard of in Turkey before.

The ultra-Kemalist Aydinlik newspaper claimed he was not a member of the armed forces but an IS fan who joined the group three years ago.

[The family of Sefer Tas with his mother Senem holding a framed picture of his in their Igdir home, Nov. 27, 2015. Photo: Ihlas]

Sefer Tas (21), on the other hand, was captured by the IS in September 2015 when he accidentally crossed the border into Syrian territory in pursuit of a group of smugglers.

A Kurd from the province of Igdir on the border with Iranian Kurdistan, Tas's case was well-known to the Turkish media since his capture.

An August issue of IS Turkish propaganda magazine of Konstantiniyye featured an interview with Tas, in which he pleaded with Turkish and Kurdish leaders to work for his release.

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker from Igdir Mehmet Emin Adiyaman said on his Twitter page that he was sorry for not being able to save Tas despite bringing up his case six times at the Parliament.

Adiyaman also added he met two ministers to help secure freedom of the conscript from his home province.

The gruesome video came as at least 16 troops were killed in clashes and attacks at the gates of al-Bab since Wednesday, and the November IS claim of the kidnapping of two other soldiers.

Editing by Ava Homa