A Gruesome Mix of the Modern and Medieval

from: ABCNEWS.com
63.162.8.172/02-04-18/11:15

Dec. 13 — For a regime that has intentions of bringing the world to the seventh-century ideal of an Islamic state, al Qaeda had a surprisingly modern media operation. As part of its media wing, it had a unit that collected articles from the Internet, in Arabic, of events linked to al Qaeda. 

Folders of articles discovered in Kabul, Afghanistan, were titled "Variety of Achievements," and are accounts of attacks on the USS Cole, the U.S. battleship attacked in Yemen last year. 

Some of the scenes the group recorded on video might as well have been taken from the medieval times al Qaeda so exalts. 

The most graphic video viewed by ABCNEWS is a series of executions. 

One of the killings is particularly grisly as it is carried out in front of thousands of people in Kandahar's famous stadium, which was a favorite killing ground for the Taliban. 

The tape begins with a man wrapped mummy-style being carried into an open space. The man's feet and hands are bound and he is further restrained in what looks like a blanket or sheet. 

A small woman, completely covered in a blue burqa, approaches the restrained man. She bends over him and with a sawing motion, uses a knife to cut off the man's head. It takes some effort, and the execution takes some time. 

When it is over, the crowd disperses.