Maldives man ‘beheaded in Syria’

A Maldivian man belonging to the Islamic State group has been beheaded by a rival terrorist organisation in Syria, local media reported Tuesday.

VFP said the man, who it identified as Ahmed Zubair, was executed two weeks ago by the Tahrir-al Sham group in Idlib. It cited a confidential source.

Social media accounts linked with the group were circulating photos of a beheaded man and VFP said it had obtained some of these images.

He had been previously captured by Tahrir-al Sham and warned about fighting with the IS group, but continued despite the threats, the website reported.

Tahrir-al Sham is an alliance of militant groups led by a rebranded al-Qaeda affiliate.

Newspaper Mihaaru reported that other Maldivians fighting in Syria were also involved in the execution of the former Dot Com member.

Dot Com is a religious extremist organisation that was formed in the Maldives capital during the Nineties.

The National Counter-Terrorism Center said it was trying to verify the media reports.

“We are working to contact his family and verify this information,” the NCTC’s Brigadier General Zakariyya Mansoor told the Maldives Independent. “We have not received any direct information on his death, but we were also alerted by the news on websites and social media.”

A foreign ministry media official, Heena Waleed, said she would check with the ministry for information about the alleged beheading but did not respond when later contacted.

A US-based security and risk management consultancy has said around 200 to 250 Maldivians are known to be fighting in Syria and Iraq, making the island nation the highest foreign fighter contributor based on per capita.