One of the Islamic State’s “Cubs of The Caliphate.”

Via Independent:

Isis has released a video showing a young boy beheading a Syrian soldier as it continues to abuse children for its gruesome brand of propaganda.

The boy, whose age could not be confirmed, was filmed murdering the prisoner under the watch of an older militant near the captured ancient city of Palmyra.

It was believed to be the first beheading by a child filmed by Isis, which has previously used minors to execute captives by shooting them.

The boy, named only as a “cub of the Caliphate”, is seen wearing camouflage and a black headdress with his face uncovered.

He forces the soldier, who identifies himself under duress as a captain in Bashar al-Assad’s army, to lie on his front so the child can pull his head back and cut it off with a small knife.

He then holds up the decapitated head and puts it on the victim’s dead body in a pose often seen after Isis’ brutal murders.

The older militant addresses the camera to threaten the so-called Islamic State’s takeover of the world’s great holy sites in Rome and Jerusalem.

According to a translation by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, he says: “Our goal is not only Palmyra nor Homs or Damascus, but to conquer Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and Rome, God willing.”