Republished May 09, 2017 - 7:09 AM
Original Publication Date May 09, 2017 - 3:54 AM
BEIRUT - The Islamic State group said it has beheaded a Russian agent who had infiltrated its ranks as a fighter to spy on the militant group, a claim that Moscow denied on Tuesday.
A gruesome video released late Monday purports to show the man, described as a captain in a Russian intelligence department that spies on "terrorists." His name was only given in Arabic.
The video showed the alleged spy being interrogated by a masked man, at which point he says he was sent to Syria to spy on top militant commander Omar al-Shishani, who was killed last year in a U.S. airstrike. The video later shows him being killed in the desert.
The Russian Defence Ministry denied that any of its servicemen had been captured in Syria.
"All servicemen of the Russian grouping of forces in Syria are safe and sound and are accomplishing missions to fight international terrorism as part of their units," the ministry said in a statement.
Thousands of fighters from the former Soviet Union have joined IS in Syria and Iraq.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017