A shocking image has been posted on Twitter showing a young boy, reportedly raised in the suburbs of Sydney, holding up the severed head of a slain Syrian soldier.
The image, taken in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, was posted on the Twitter account of Khaled Sharrouf, a Sydney man who fled to Syria last year and is now an Islamic State fighter, News Corp reported on Monday.
The photo is believed to be that of his son and was posted with the words, “Thats my boy!”
The boy, wearing a cap, checked pants and a blue shirt, struggles with both arms to hold up the head of the slain soldier.
It is one of several photos posted by Sharrouf, who security agencies believe travelled to Syria with his family. One shows Sharrouf also holding the severed head.
Another photo shows Sharrouf dressed in camouflage fatigues and posing with his three young sons who are holding guns, the flag of the Islamic State behind them.
Sharrouf, a convicted terrorist, is wanted by Australian Federal Police over crimes in Syria and Iraq, which include the execution of a captured Iraqi official in the desert outside the Iraqi city of Mosul.
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, said the pictures were another example of the “hideous atrocities” such groups were capable of. “We see more and more evidence of just how barbaric this particular entity is,” he said.
The defence minister, David Johnston, said he was disgusted by the picture. “I’m obviously revolted,” he told ABC radio.
Johnston said it underscored the importance of the government’s proposed counter-terrorism laws.
But he stressed it should not be taken out of context and condemned the picture as a “shocking misrepresentation” of Islam and Muslims.
“I’m very upset about this sort of thing completely colouring our view of Muslims,” Johnston said. “The vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving and peaceful people.”