The ISIS fighter featured in a recently-released video of a child executing two men suspected to be "Russian spies" has allegedly been killed in the battlefield.
The man, who was named in reports as Abu Saad al-Dagestani, was allegedly killed fighting in Kobani in the Syria-Turkey border.
According to ABC News, Twitters users announced that al-Dagestani was killed in fighting in Kobani on January 15, two days after the gruesome execution video that featured him was published online. Both ISIS-affiliated accounts and users affiliated with the Peshmerga who oppose the Islamic State agree that the fighter was indeed a casualty in the battles for Kobani.
Counter-terrorism officials in Kobani seemed to concur with the reports as well.
"We do think he was killed," an unnamed official involved in the operations in Kobani told ABC News.
Two weeks ago, shocking video footage emerged online of a child believed to be under 11 years old shooting two kneeling men in the head with a pistol surfaced. The 7-minute video was released on Twitter and spread by ISIS-affiliated accounts. Al-Dagestani was seen standing beside the boy, which the video referred to as a "lion's cub."
The video also showed the kneeling men "confessing" to be Russian spies before they were apparently executed by the child.
However, there was doubt as to the authenticity of the video. According to ABC News, several observers have noted the lack of "blood splatter" in the shooting and have suggested that the video was staged. Officials with the US government and Russia declined to comment, although a former counter-terrorism official told ABC News that he believed that the execution was real.
Videos produced by the ISIS typically show graphic depiction of executions, either through beheadings or limb amputation. The videos, which are released through Twitter by affiliate accounts, are described by ABC News as designed to shock Western audiences with depictions of violent acts.
