UK denounces IS shooting video

An Islamic State (IS) video showing a young boy in military fatigues and an older masked militant who both spoke with British accents should be viewed as a propaganda tool, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday. The video, which could not be independently verified, also shows the killing of five men accused of spying for the West. A masked man in the 10-minute video released on Sunday threatens Cameron and vows that IS will one day ­occupy ­Britain before shooting one of the alleged spies in the head. The footage revived memories of Muhammad Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, a ­British IS member who appeared in several videos in which hostages were killed before his own reported death was in an airstrike in late 2015. The masked militant shown in the new video was different from Emwazi but spoke with a clear English accent, waving a gun at the camera while criticizing Cameron. "This is a message to David Cameron, O slave of the White House, O mule of the Jews," the man said. "How strange it is that a leader of a small island threatens us with a handful of planes. One would have thought you'd have learned the lessons of your pathetic master in Washington and his failed campaign against the IS," he continued. "We are examining the content of the video, and the prime minister is being kept updated on that," Cameron's spokesperson said. She was not aware whether Cameron himself had watched the video. "It serves as a reminder of the barbarity of Daesh and what the world faces with these terrorists. It is also clearly a propaganda tool and should be treated as such," the spokesperson said, referring to IS by one of its Arabic acronyms. When asked whether the men shown had been spies, the spokesperson declined to comment on intelligence matters but said the group's past propaganda had not been true at all. After the killings of the five men, an English-speaking boy who appears to be about four or 5 years old is shown saying, "So go kill the kuffar right over there." Kuffar is an Arabic term that is typically translated as "unbeliever" or "infidel." In November, British officials said that up to 800 Britons had travelled to Iraq and Syria, some to join IS. About 50 percent had returned home, while about 70 were believed to have been killed.