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Dead Isis fighter's headcam video shows chaos and disorganisation on frontline | |
(about 17 hours later) | |
A video has emerged purporting to show Isis propaganda footage that was never intended for an international audience, with a bungling group of jihadists losing a battle against the Kurds in northern Iraq and retreating in chaos. | A video has emerged purporting to show Isis propaganda footage that was never intended for an international audience, with a bungling group of jihadists losing a battle against the Kurds in northern Iraq and retreating in chaos. |
Vice News said it had obtained the video from the helmet-mounted camera of an Isis jihadist who died fighting the Peshmerga some 30 miles north of Mosul. | Vice News said it had obtained the video from the helmet-mounted camera of an Isis jihadist who died fighting the Peshmerga some 30 miles north of Mosul. |
The video cannot be independently verified, but it matches in style the multiple “headcam” clips released by Isis propaganda outlets in the past. | The video cannot be independently verified, but it matches in style the multiple “headcam” clips released by Isis propaganda outlets in the past. |
The new footage would have been captured with the intention of being used for propaganda itself – but uncut, it shows the panic, fear and disorganisation of life on the front line in the long-running conflict. | The new footage would have been captured with the intention of being used for propaganda itself – but uncut, it shows the panic, fear and disorganisation of life on the front line in the long-running conflict. |
It starts with the depiction of a would-be suicide bomber saying goodbye to other fighters, before climbing into a large modified truck with blacked-out windows and Isis insignia daubed on the side. | It starts with the depiction of a would-be suicide bomber saying goodbye to other fighters, before climbing into a large modified truck with blacked-out windows and Isis insignia daubed on the side. |
The wearer of the headcam and three fellow fighters then leave for the front line, a field overlooked by Peshmerga positions in the hills, behind two other Isis vehicles with improvised armour. | The wearer of the headcam and three fellow fighters then leave for the front line, a field overlooked by Peshmerga positions in the hills, behind two other Isis vehicles with improvised armour. |
The ensuing battle begins with a Peshmerga rocket hitting one of the trucks in front, before the Isis fighters begin returning fire. | The ensuing battle begins with a Peshmerga rocket hitting one of the trucks in front, before the Isis fighters begin returning fire. |
The fighters can be seen struggling to use a range of weaponry, from what appears to be a German-made MG3 machine gun to a rocket launcher and an assortment of apparently homemade grenades. | The fighters can be seen struggling to use a range of weaponry, from what appears to be a German-made MG3 machine gun to a rocket launcher and an assortment of apparently homemade grenades. |
They argue among themselves as the fight goes on, with both his colleagues complaining about the conduct of a militant they name as “Abu Hajaar”. | They argue among themselves as the fight goes on, with both his colleagues complaining about the conduct of a militant they name as “Abu Hajaar”. |
And they are forced to try and retreat on foot when the front of the truck they are in is hit by a Peshmerga rocket, killing the driver. | And they are forced to try and retreat on foot when the front of the truck they are in is hit by a Peshmerga rocket, killing the driver. |
It is unclear in what form the video was obtained by Vice News, and whether it was already edited by the Peshmerga themselves to make the Isis fighters look bad. | It is unclear in what form the video was obtained by Vice News, and whether it was already edited by the Peshmerga themselves to make the Isis fighters look bad. |
But it nonetheless appears to show a reality of the conflict on the front line in Iraq that is far removed from the idealised projections of Isis’s own media output. | But it nonetheless appears to show a reality of the conflict on the front line in Iraq that is far removed from the idealised projections of Isis’s own media output. |
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