ISIL kills 102-year-old Syrian man in Alawite massacre – report

A 102-year-old Syrian man was shot dead while sleeping, along with his entire family, according to a new report of atrocities committed by the merciless ISIL jihadist group fighting the forces of Bashar Assad.

The radical rebels from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also murdered the man’s son, his grandson, his great-granddaughter, and her mother, AFP reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The killing took place as ISIL attacked the village of Zanuba in Hama governorate.

"Some members of the family were burned alive, others killed in their sleep," the Observatory added.

The family was from the minority Alawite group – an offshoot of Shia Islam, to which Syrian President Bashar Assad belongs.

ISIL, renowned for its involvement in beheadings and crucifixions, is described as the most bloodthirsty terrorist group fighting the Syrian regime. Rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Iraq branch, it is aimed at establishing a caliphate in the Sunni majority part of Iraq, and in Syria. It is active in both countries and is comprised of fighters of various nationalities. In February 2014, Al-Qaeda cut ties with ISIL over months of power struggle.

ISIL’s ruthless tactics, jihadist objectives, and foreign contingent have made them the enemies of the moderate Syrian rebels who now have to fight both government forces and the radicals.

Recently, a senior Free Syrian Army commander said that British nationals in Syria make up the majority of the foreign members of ISIL.

“They are not freedom fighters. They are terrorists. We, the Syrian people now experience beheadings, crucifixions, beatings, murders, outdated methods of treating women, an obsolete approach to governing society. Many who participate in these activities are British,” Free Syrian Army’s Brigadier-General Abdulellah Basheer wrote in a letter to The Times.

According to Basheer, the group is predominantly foreign, with other fighters hailing from France, Germany, and Belgium, as well as a range of countries across the Middle East and Africa.