ISIS video purportedly shows execution of 3 Kurdish fighters

A video released today appears to shows Islamic State (ISIS) militants slaughtering three Kurdish Peshmerga hostages in response to what they called Kurdish and US airstrikes against the organisation’s strongholds.

The video shows three ISIS militants, who spoke Kurdish, blaming the Kurdish Regional Government for fighting the militant group under what they termed the “crusaders’ coalition”.

The victims were wearing orange jumpsuits and reportedly had their heads cut off.

ISIS militants had earlier threatened Peshmerga forces with killing one of their hostages for “each missile they launch” against its strongholds.

At least 17 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were captured by ISIS on 30 January and were threatened with execution on the Day of Nowroz – a spring festival that falls on 21 March each year and is celebrated mainly by the country’s Kurdish population.

Iraqi forces, backed by Shia militias and Kurdish forces, have been battling ISIS since June 2014 when the armed group seized control of Mosul and much of the north and west of the country.