On Dec 29, a video surfaced on a website known to be associated with the self-proclaimed Islamic State or IS, called Khayr Wilayah Media.

Eight minutes long, the clip – in Arabic and English – featured footage of IS attacks in Paris and Nice, interspersing these with scenes from Middle Eastern conflict zones as well as festivities in Western capitals such as Sydney and New York City.

The video also included a segment in which the known Singaporean IS militant Megat Shahdan Abdul Samad, also known as Abu Uqayl, led two other Southeast Asian-looking IS fighters in executing three kneeling Arab-looking prisoners, with gunshots at point blank range. Before carrying out the cold-blooded shootings, Abu Uqayl addressed the camera in English, urging IS supporters to kill all “unbelievers” and “apostates” from East Asia to the west of Africa.

The video clip has garnered much attention on social media, prompting the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) to condemn the clip, asserting that it represented a “desperate attack” by IS to drive a wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims.

… Kumar Ramakrishna is Associate Professor, Head of Policy Studies and Coordinator of the National Security Studies Programme in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. This first appeared in RSIS Commentary.

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