Islamic State says it has beheaded Russian for spying

Islamic State said it has beheaded a Russian agent who had infiltrated its ranks as a fighter to spy on the militant group.

A gruesome video released late Monday purports to show the man, described as a captain in a Russian intelligence department that spies on “terrorists.” His name was only given in Arabic.

The video shows a masked man interrogating the alleged spy, who says he was sent to Syria to spy on Islamic State top military commander Omar Shishani. Shishani was killed last year in a U.S. airstrike. The video later shows the alleged spy on his knees somewhere in the desert, where he is killed by a Russian-speaking man.

Thousands of fighters from the former Soviet Union have joined Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.