Islamist Group Claims Credit for Executing Kidnapped Syrian TV Presenter

Says Killing Will 'Serve as an Example to All'

Weeks after his kidnapping from his home in Damascus Province in mid-July, television presenter Mohammed al-Saeed has been executed by the militant group al-Nusra Front, which issued a statement praising its decision.

“Perhaps this operation and others will serve as an example to all who support this tyrannical regime, so that they may repent to God,” al-Nusra said in a statement, promising more such attacks.

This is the same group which claimed responsibility for the late-June attack on the private Ikhbariya TV station, during which they burned the newsroom and executed seven of the employees of the channel, claiming they were pro-regime.

The group got its start in January with attacks along the Turkish border, and operates its own media group The White Minaret. They appear to have designs on being the new media of Syria, targeting rivals which make statements which conflict with their own.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.