New ISIS Video Shows Kurd Fighters Being Paraded in Cages on Iraqi Streets
A new video released by the Islamic State, or ISIS, terror group shows captured Kurdish Peshmerga fighters being paraded in cages through the crowded streets of Iraq.
The propaganda video shows at least 21 Kurds wearing orange jumpsuits in cages on top of pickup trucks on Iraqi streets, according to CNN.
An ISIS militant holding a microphone bearing the terror group's logo is then shown interviewing some of the Kurds, who identify themselves as Peshmerga soldiers who are protecting the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
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Most of the captured fighters say they are from the northern city of Kirkuk, and, apparently under duress, urge their fellow soldiers not to fight against ISIS, which is also known as ISIL.
"We say to the Peshmerga: Leave your jobs, or your fate will be like these, either the cage, or under the ground," says a man in the video in Kurdish language.
The video, whose authenticity has not been verified, doesn't show any execution, but the fate of the Kurds remains precarious given ISIS' brutal tendency.
The Kurds are seen as pro-America, as they opposed Saddam Hussein's regime and backed Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The video also carries footage of the recent beheadings of Egypt's Coptic Christian in Libya.
In the previous video, the Christians were reportedly whispering the name of Jesus as their heads were being hacked off their bodies.
Meanwhile, Syrian Kurdish forces, backed by U.S.-led air strikes, advanced against ISIS militants in two separate attacks in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border Sunday, according to Reuters.
ISIS, an al-Qaeda offshoot which seeks to form an Islamic emirate in the Levant region through "jihad," has earlier released videos showing the beheading of five Western hostages since August – of British hostages David Haines and Alan Henning, and U.S. citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Abdul-Rahman Kassig.
The Sunni group, which has gained control over large territories in Iraq and Syria, has also released videos showing execution of two Japanese hostages Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa.
The U.S. military is leading airstrikes on ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria, and also has troops on the ground to train their Iraqi counterparts.
