The ISIS graduates are shown undergoing training in bizarre Kung Fu style in the latest propaganda video released by the terrorist group. The video runs for 6 minutes and is titled “Blood of Jihad.” The video shows scenes recorded in expansive desert region. With the dominance of the brownish sand colour and the white uniforms worn by the men in training, the video seemed shot using sepia effect. The sepia gives it a semblance to an old action flick dating to the era of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. At some point, complicated Kung Fu manoeuvres were highlighted by freezing movement and turning the scene into black and white, with either slow motion or flash forward effect.
A man wearing a baseball cap serves as an on-screen narrator. In his introduction, he said that “the first group of volunteers for jihad in the path of Allah has graduated.” Behind him is a young boy waving the ISIS infamous black flag. The narrator then explained the three stages of the training process. The first stage tests the trainees’ physical fitness and strength.
The scene then cuts to a long line of men standing in combat style. A man in Khaki then kicks each man in the chest, one after another. He strikes the last man in the line with his knee. The sequence ended with the trainees shouting “Allahu akbar” which translated in English means “God Is great” and “Islamic State is here to stay.”
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The second stage is for the trainees underwent weapons training. At this point, the video turns somewhat amusing. The men were shown wearing their balaclava while sitting cross-legged on the floor. An ISIS member is supposedly demonstrating how to adeptly assemble a Kalashnikov. However, at this point, the video cheats into using the flash forward to make it appear that the man demonstrating was doing it in high level of expertise.
The last part of the training, and the last sequence of the video, shows a sheikh lecturing the future graduates. He promised that they will leave the battlefield as “martyrs.” The original video had since been taken down from YouTube for violation.
In another video released Sunday, hostage British journalist John Cantile was reportedly shown. In the video, Cantile referred to James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Alan Henning’s killing as a “win win” situation for the ISIS.
“If these executions force public outcry or a policy change, that is a huge victory. And if they only goad our governments into dropping more bombs and spending millions more dollars, making our countries weaker in the process, that is a victory too,” he said.
