ISIS Militants Pose as Gay to Entrap, Execute Gay Men

In order to expose gay men in Syria, militant members of the Islamic State, or ISIS, are going undercover and pose as gay men to entrap and then execute real gay men, according to reports and the Daily Beast.

The revelation was revealed after photos went viral on Twitter last weekend. The images reportedly show two gay men being hugged by ISIS militants before they were stoned to death in Homs, Syria. The Daily Beast reports members of ISIS have started to entrap gay men by going undercover as gay in order to expose the men's sexuality.

The Christian Post reports the two victims in the pictures are believed to be 29 and 24 years old. In three of the photos, militants give hugs to the two gay men before they were executed, "which is an odd gesture for a group notorious for its barbarism," the newspaper writes.

An activist with the anti-ISIS group, Raqqa, which is based in Syria, spoke with the Daily Beast and called the images propaganda, adding that by releasing the photos of the militants hugging the gay men, it sends the message that the militants are helping the victims absolve their sins.

"ISIS has never forgiven a single person," Abu Mohammed Hussam told the Daily Beast. "They kill people and then say God will forgive you. They hug the men to show people who are watching that ISIS is not at fault."

The other images released on Twitter were more disturbing, however. In one, a crowd of people watches the executions and another picture shows the battered bodies of the gay men on the ground while ISIS members throw stones at them.

This isn't the first time ISIS has killed and stoned men for being gay. Since December, reports have shown the militant group has killed a number of gay men. The group operates on very strict sharia law, which bans homosexuality. It was reported earlier this month that, under a new law, ISIS was targeting hipsters, or men who wear skinny jeans and have music on their phones.