IS used journo’s FB account to trap activists after killing her

The Islamic State used an independent woman journalist’s Facebook account, who was kidnapped and executed by the group last year, to lure other journalists and activists, reports said.

The Islamic State used an independent woman journalist’s Facebook account, who was kidnapped and executed by the group last year, to lure other journalists and activists, reports said.

Citizen journalist Ruqia Hassan, better known as Nisan Ibrahim. (Facebook)

Citizen journalist Ruqia Hassan, better known as Nisan Ibrahim on social media, was killed by the IS for writing about life under the terror outfit’s rule.

The extremist group executed Hassan sometime in September last year for reporting from inside their territory, Syrian media said on Monday. It kept her execution a secret and operated her Facebook account to lure other journalists and activists who were in touch with her through social media, according to various news reports.

A citizen journalist working for ‘Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered (RBSS),’ a news website run by Syrian activists against IS, told The Independent that, the group hijacked her Facebook account and used it to identify its opponents.

Hassan used her personal Facebook page to report airstrikes and also to write about life under IS rule in general, Furat al-Wafaa, a citizen journalist from Raqqa in Syria, said. In a post on July 20, 2015, Hassan had written against the IS’ decision to ban wi-fi hotspots in Raqqa city, reported Syrian Direct, a news organisation.

Only last week, IS released a fresh propaganda video, which showed five people being executed on the charge of being British spies. But it is unclear whether this is linked to Hassan’s execution.