Horrific video shows Syrian Catholic priest being 'beheaded by jihadist fighters in front of cheering crowd'

A Syrian Catholic priest has been beheaded by jihadist fighters in Syria, it has been claimed. The death of Franciscan Father Francois Murad has been confirmed bythe official Vatican news agency. The gruesome killing has raised further concerns aboutthe West arming rebels in the fight againstthe regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Grainyfootage purported to show the 49-year-old’s deathhas been posted on the internet. Father Francois, was killed on23 June in Gassanieh, in northern Syria. He had been staying in the convent of the Custody of the Holy Land. Catholic.orglinked to the video and reported: 'Syrian terrorists have beheaded a Catholic priest who they accused of collaborating with the Assad regime. Those accusations have not yet been verified.' Fides News Agencysaid: 'According to local sources, the monastery where Fr. Murad was staying was attacked by militants linked to the jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra.' Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the Front for the Protectionof the Syrian People, is an Al Qaeda associated group, described as 'the most aggressive and successful arm of the rebel force.' In the video, filmed on a camera phone and posted on LiveLeak, three men - including a man reported to beFather Francois -are seen sitting on the dusty ground asa crowd around them cheers.The man, wearing a brown robe, is filmed sitting cross-legged with his hands apparently bound. He is pulled forward and laid face down on the grass as thecrowd chant 'Allahu akbar' andtake photos. He is then decapitated, using what looks like a rudimentary kitchen knife. Dozens of camera phones are shoved forward by the bayingcrowd as the scene turns more bloody. Fides News Agency says the 'circumstances of the death are not fully understood' but said his death has been confirmed by the Custos of theHoly Land - the convent whereFather Francois had been staying. It has not been confirmedFather Francois was beheaded. Assad's forces pounded SunniMuslim rebels in the city of Homs with artillery and from the air on Sunday, the secondday of their offensive in central Syria, activists said. They said rebels defending the old centre of Homs and five adjacent Sunni districts had largely repelled a ground attack on Saturday by Assad'sforces, backed by guerrillas from the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, but reportedclashes and deaths within the city on Sunday.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2352251/Horrific-video-shows-Syrian-Catholic-priest-beheaded-jihadist-fighters-cheering-crowd.html