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January 5, 2016

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Cameron: IS video a propaganda ploy

British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday dismissed a new video in which five purported British spies are shot dead by masked Islamic State extremists as propaganda from a group that is losing control of territory in Syria and Iraq.

鈥淚t鈥檚 desperate stuff from an organization that really does do the most utterly despicable and ghastly acts and people can see that again today,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut this is an organization that鈥檚 losing territory, it鈥檚 losing ground, it鈥檚, I think, increasingly losing anybody鈥檚 sympathy, and this again shows what an appalling organization we鈥檙e up against.鈥

British security officials are studying the 10-minute video for clues about the identity of a masked man who speaks with a British accent on the video before shooting a captive in the head. The masked man, occasionally pointing a gun at the camera, vows the extremists will soon invade Britain and establish Shariah law.

The masked figure is an apparent IS replacement for Mohammed Emwazi, the British-accented man known as 鈥淛ihadi John,鈥 who was killed in a drone strike in Syria in November. The British-born Muslim had figured prominently in earlier IS beheading videos.

The anti-British propaganda video is the first to surface from the IS extremists since Britain鈥檚 Parliament approved Cameron鈥檚 December request for authorization to launch airstrikes against IS positions in Syria.

The IS has recently lost control of the Iraqi city of Ramadi after an Iraqi military assault backed by US airpower.

Cameron鈥檚 spokeswoman, Helen Bower, said Britain鈥檚 security forces are scrutinizing the video. 鈥淲e are examining the content of the video and the prime minister is being kept updated on that,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t serves as a reminder of the barbarity of Daesh (Islamic State) and what the world faces with these terrorists. It is also clearly a propaganda tool, and should be treated as such.鈥

Asked about the claim the five men executed were British spies, she said: 鈥淭his does appear to be a propaganda tool and not all of ISIL鈥檚 propaganda in the past has been true.鈥

The video concludes with footage of a young boy of about 4 or 5 who threatens Britons.


 

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