An al-Qaeda-linked jihadi who was filmed eating the HEART of a Syrian army soldier has been killed in combat, it has been reported. The footage of Abu Sakkar's vile desecration is among the most shocking to emerge from the conflict which has devastated Syria and Iraq. Now photos posted have emerged online showing the body of the fighter, who is believed to have left the Free Syrian Army to fight for the al-Qaeda affiliated al Nusra Front. A series of photos have been posted online, showing the 'cannibal's' body lying in a body bag. Reports from Syria suggest he died in the north west Latakia province - which has been blighted with deadly clashes between militia and government troops. While some groups say he was killed by the Syrian government, others claim his convoy was hit by a different anti-Nusra rebel group. The shocking video for which he became infamous was filmed in 2013 on a phone outside the stricken city of Homs as fighting grew in ferocity. In the video Sakkar takes a knife to the body of a dead soldier and eats his heart while comrades chant: "I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar (Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad) the dog." To cheers off-screen one of those involved then shouts: "Allahu akbar," or "God is great." In a short Youtube video Sakkar said that the mutilation was revenge because he found a video on the soldier's cellphone in which the soldier sexually abuses a woman and her two daughters, along with other videos showing Assad loyalists raping, torturing, dismembering and killing people, including children. Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch said: "The mutilation of the bodies of enemies is a war crime. "But the even more serious issue is the very rapid descent into sectarian rhetoric and violence." Bouckaert added that Abu Sakkar refers to Syrian leader Bashar Assad's religious sect as he instructs his men to "slaughter the Alawites and take their hearts out to eat them".
