Reciting prayers from the Koran before they are beheaded: ISIS barbarians release sickening new video showing ten Kurdish fighters being brutally executed in Iraq

By Simon Tomlinson for MailOnline

Published: 02:41 EST, 2 October 2015 | Updated: 07:37 EST, 2 October 2015

Reciting prayers from the Koran, ten Kurdish soldiers are lined up and forced to kneel moments before being brutally decapitated by the Islamic State.

Sickening video of the executions was released by the jihadists shortly after suffering heavy losses at the hands of the Peshmerga in Iraq.

The footage, shot near the terror group's stronghold of Mosul, shows the prisoners kneeling on the floor while executioners cloaked in black stand behind them with hunting knives.

Scroll down for video  

Courageous in the face of death: Ten Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are lined up and forced to kneel moments before being beheaded in the latest execution video released by the Islamic State

Courageous in the face of death: Ten Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are lined up and forced to kneel moments before being beheaded in the latest execution video released by the Islamic State

The captives, dressed in orange jumpsuits, can be heard reciting passages from the Koran while one says his final prayers of Shahada – an Islamic testimony of faith.

After the men are beheaded and their placed on their bodies, an ISIS fighter warned of the 'inevitable fate' of other peshmerga prisoners still being held captive, it was reported by Kurdish news outlet Kurdaw.

The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified but it was distributed on websites with links to the militant group.

The video was released shortly after Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq drove ISIS from more than 50 square miles of territory near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and cleared part of a highway Wednesday.

Revenge: Sickening video of the executions was released by the jihadists shortly after suffering heavy losses at the hands of the Peshmerga in Iraq

Revenge: Sickening video of the executions was released by the jihadists shortly after suffering heavy losses at the hands of the Peshmerga in Iraq

Barbaric: The footage, shot near the terror group's stronghold of Mosul, shows the prisoners kneeling on the floor while executioners cloaked in black stand behind them with hunting knives

Barbaric: The footage, shot near the terror group's stronghold of Mosul, shows the prisoners kneeling on the floor while executioners cloaked in black stand behind them with hunting knives

The Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by U.S.-led airstrikes pushed the militants beyond Ghara Heights and Mount Batiwa, south of Kirkuk, and secured a stretch of a highway which connects Kirkuk to the central city of Samarra, a statement from the Kurdistan Region Security Council said.

The villages of Meziriya, Gubebe, Seda, Mohammed Khalil, Qows Kurd, Tal Ward, Khalef and Mansouria – all south of Kirkuk – were purged of militants, the statement said.

At least 10 peshmerga fighters died in the operation and another 16 were wounded, according to a senior security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief journalists. 

The Kurdish government said some militants were seen fleeing toward the contested town of Hawijah.

A blindfolded prisoner is forced to kneel before being executed by an ISIS militant in the Iraqi city of Ninevah  

A blindfolded prisoner is forced to kneel before being executed by an ISIS militant in the Iraqi city of Ninevah  

In another chilling video released by ISIS, 13 people are shot in the back of the head in the terror group's de facto capital Raqqa

In another chilling video released by ISIS, 13 people are shot in the back of the head in the terror group's de facto capital Raqqa

In further images released by the terror group online, two men are beheaded in the Syrian city of Hasakah

In further images released by the terror group online, two men are beheaded in the Syrian city of Hasakah

ISIS group swept across northern Iraq in the summer of 2014 and holds roughly a third of Iraq and neighbouring Syria. 

Kurdish fighters made significant advances against the militant group early this year, but their progress has stalled around areas the extremists view as strategic - particularly near the border.

The militant group has launched numerous attacks on Kirkuk in its bid to expand access to oil resources, but peshmerga fighters have managed to defend the city.

A statement from the U.S.-led coalition on Wednesday noted three airstrikes near Kirkuk over the previous day, which it said had destroyed a tactical unit, 10 rocket rails, a weapons cache, five militant vehicles and a car bomb. 

Another eight airstrikes were conducted in the area around Hawijah over the same period, the statement said.

Comments (140)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now