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Horrors of War

Abu Sakkar as seen in video

# Syrian rebel leader admits to biting into soldier's organs

Khalid al Hamad, also known as Abu Sakkar, tries to defend actions by claiming dead soldier had footage on his mobile phone of him abusing naked woman, her two daughters

Ynet

Published: | 05.15.13, 22:47 / Israel News

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The Syrian rebel leader who shocked the world after being documented biting into the heart of a soldier has no regrets.

Khalid al Hamad, also known as Abu Sakkar, confirmed in an interview with Time magazine he was the man in the video and revealed he had another as-yet-unreleased graphic propaganda showing him sawing a government soldier into pieces.

He claimed the organ seen in the video was in fact one of the man’s lungs – a claim substantiated by a surgeon who Time showed the footage to.

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Earlier, Hamad was identified by the Human Rights Watch as a rebel commander with the Homs-based Farouk Brigades who had broken away from the brigades for a smaller organization.

In one of the more shocking videos released in the Syrian civil war, Abu Sakkar is seen cutting organs out of a dead soldier and biting into his heart.

Addressing the camera as he ripped the flesh, Abu Sakkar said: "I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers," he warned President Bashar Assad's forces as his men cheered.

Abu Sakkar hacking body

Hamas told Time that the dead soldier in the video had footage on his mobile phone of him abusing and humiliating a naked women and her two daughters.

He also revealed there is another video a showing him sawing a government soldier into pieces. "In the clip I am sawing another Shabiha (pro-government militiaman) with a saw. The saw we use to cut trees. I sawed him in small pieces and large ones.”

In previous clips, Abu Sakkar is seen firing rockets at Shiite villages in the Lebanon border area.

Peter Bouckaert of the Human Rights Watch said the video was filmed on March 26 in the ruins of a village between Homs and Qusayr. Abu Sakkar is considered one of the top commanders in the area where a crucial battle is being waged.

The Free Syrian Army has strongly condemned the video and has vowed to hunt down and severely punish Abu Sakkar.

Meanwhile, the president of the UN General Assembly, Vuk Jeremic said the death toll in Syria from the country's two-year civil war is at least 80,000, an increase of about 20,000 since the start of the year.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group, said on Tuesday that at least 94,000 people have been killed but the death toll is likely to be as high as 120,000.

Reuters contributed to this report

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