Abbas Medlej: Mother of Lebanese soldier beheaded by IS learns of death from Twitter

THE distraught mother of the second Lebanese soldier beheaded by IS learned of her son’s horrific death from photographs on Twitter.

THE distraught mother of a Lebanese soldier apparently beheaded by IS has vowed revenge after learning of his horrific death from Twitter.

Zeinab Noun said her 20-year-old son, Abbas Medlej, had been “sacrificed” by the Islamic State militants.

MORE: What makes a young man turn to terror?

An IS commander told the Turkish Anadolu news agency yesterday that his group had beheaded the soldier for attempting to escape.

The Shia Muslim was reportedly beheaded for trying to escape.

The 20-year-old was one of 19 Lebanese soldiers and policemen captured by IS.

Nauseating images of what is apparently Medlej lying in a pool of blood then surfaced on the social media network.

Another photo shows the man on his knees while extremists wearing headscarves and camouflage gear and toting large weapons hold up an IS flag behind him. One militant, wearing what look like Adidas trainers with his head shrouded in a black cloak, appears to be reading from a piece a paper.

Medlej was one of 19 Lebanese soldiers captured by the militants at a border town last month.

“My son was sacrificed,” said Noun, clutching a passport-sized photo of the young man.

“We have to take our revenge from those apostates [people who forsakes their religion or beliefs].”

This Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, the mother of a missing Lebanese soldier who was kidnapped by Islamic State militants, shouts slogans against the Lebanese cabinet during a demonstration to demand action to secure the captives' release, in front the Lebanese government building, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. The mother of Lebanese soldier Abbas Medlej, held captive by the militant Islamic State group says that photographs posted online purporting to show his beheading appear real, on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014. Militants, including from the Islamic State extremist group, seized around 30 soldiers and policemen after overrunning a Lebanese border town in early August. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Medlej was part of a large Shiite clan from the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbak, while IS is made up of Sunnis.

The soldier’s maternal uncle, Abu Ali Noun, also confirmed the Twitter photographs appeared to be of his nephew. A spokesman for Lebanon’s military said it was still investigating the incident.

Medlej would be the second captive Lebanese soldier killed by the Islamic State group, underscoring the challenges that face the ill-equipped Lebanese military as it fends off an unprecedented jihadi threat from Syria-based militants.

There are fears for the safety of the one million-plus Syrian refugees in Lebanon as anger grows over the beheadings.

This Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, a family of a missing Lebanese soldier who was kidnapped by Islamic State militants, sits on the ground as they block a street during a demonstration to demand action to secure the captives' release, in front the Lebanese government building, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. The mother of Lebanese soldier Abbas Medlej, held captive by the militant Islamic State group says that photographs posted online purporting to show his beheading appear real, on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014. Militants, including from the Islamic State extremist group, seized around 30 soldiers and policemen after overrunning a Lebanese border town in early August. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Medlej’s furious uncle echoed his sister’s promise of revenge, saying “every Syrian in Lebanon is a target”.

The captured soldiers and police are from Lebanon’s many religious sects — the first soldier beheaded by the group, Ali Sayid, was a Sunni Muslim, and the militants are also holding Christian soldiers and other Sunnis.

IS want the release of fellow fighters held at a Lebanese jail, according to Al-Jazeera.

A video of Sayid’s execution reportedly showed nine other soldiers begging for their lives.

Families of the captives have blocked highways and held demonstrations to pressure the Lebanese government to push harder for the release of the men.

The grief of Medlej’s mother echoes that seen in the heart-wrenching video released by the mother of beheaded US journalist Steven Sotloff just before his execution, begging for his release.