Islamic State in Syria released a video Thursday that purportedly shows two captured Turkish soldiers being burned to death, a U.S.-based monitoring group and media sources said.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant groups online, said the Aleppo Province of the Islamic State in Syria group released the disturbing video, which allegedly showed two Turkish army soldiers being taken from a cage, bound in chains, and burned alive.
U.S. Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement, "If confirmed, the United States strongly condemns this barbaric act, which is a brutal reminder of why we are committed to dealing ISIL (Islamic State) a lasting defeat. . . . This outrage only reinforces our determination to work with Turkey and the entire coalition to destroy ISIL in Syria, Iraq and beyond."
Reuters said it was not able to verify the report or get any further information from Turkish officials.
In February 2015, IS released a similar video showing a captured Jordanian fighter pilot who was burned to death while locked in a cage.
Pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh's plane went down in Syria in late December 2014 while he was flying with the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against IS. He apparently was killed January 3, 2015.
Late last month, IS reported it had kidnapped two Turkish soldiers in northern Syria, where Turkish forces are involved in an offensive against the extremist group, and Turkish military officials said they had lost contact with two soldiers in the area.
