ISIS Allegedly Bans Beheading Videos to Avoid Frightening Children

Ever since video of ISIS militants beheading two American journalists and a British aid worker went viral in September, the terrorist organization has routinely posted subsequent videos demonstrating similar executions. Yet this practice may soon come to an end.

According to ARA News in Urfa, Turkey, the alleged caliph of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, issued a memorandum to the organization’s PR calling for an end to the distribution of graphic execution videos.

His reasoning? Pro-ISIS sources told the news outlet that al-Baghdadi is “considering the general feelings of Muslims, who may regard the scenes as disgusting and scary to children.”

The same report suggests that the internal response to al-Baghdadi’s orders has been divided. Many ISIS militants agree with the alleged caliph’s reasoning, especially since many of their own supporters in the general populace consider the videos (and the acts they depict) “barbaric.”

However, many don’t care for the policy change, “saying that such scenes are meant to intimidate their enemies, represented by western powers, and not the common folk.” ISIS fighters like these are intensely focused on using these grandiose PR tactics to frighten Western nations like the United States and the United Kingdom, and don’t consider the possible effects on their own ilk a factor.

[h/t ARA News, Mirror, RT]
[Image via screengrab]

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