ISIS Video Takes Us Inside Its Training Camp

A chilling new propaganda video from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria gives us a glimpse inside the terrorist group's training camp, showing brutal images of recruits being punched and kicked as part of their training. Posted on YouTube over the weekend, the ISIS "Blood of Jihad" video shows hundreds of recruits, confirming Western fears that the group is growing in numbers with the help of foreign fighters. It's the latest video from ISIS, which has been releasing propaganda videos alongside its recorded executions of American and British citizens.

The six-minute-long video shows the recruits, at first dressed in matching white jumpsuits, going through various practice drills, from physical fighting to dodging gunfire. In one particularly hard-to-watch segment, the recruits are lined up in a row, arms raised and hands clenched into fists. An ISIS member goes down the line, kicking each recruit in the stomach.

Other scenes show the recruits clad in military gear and face masks. They hold machine guns — which The Telegraph has identified as Kalashnikov, or AK-47s — and practice putting them together and taking them apart. It also appears the recruits are honing Kung fu-style moves as they work with one another. Throughout the video, soft music and chanting in Arabic plays as the soundtrack.

According to The Telegraph, this latest propaganda video was shot in northern Iraq — specifically, Nineveh province, home to the city of Mosul. Israel National News reports the training camp is located in Ninawa, a city about 70 miles from Mosul. Nineveh province has been under ISIS control since the terrorist group seized Mosul in June.

ISIS has long been using social media as a means to spread their propagandist films and facilitate recruitment. The presence of alleged ISIS members and supporters grew so much on Twitter that executives at the social media website said they've been harassed after shutting down ISIS accounts. While speaking at the Vanity Fair News Establishment Summit last week, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said he and other staff members were now receiving calls for their assassination. "That’s a jarring thing for anyone to deal with,"Costolo said.

He emphasized that ISIS' speech is not protected by Twitter's guidelines, which is why the company has been deactivating alleged ISIS accounts.

Tensions remain high as U.S.-led airstrikes continue to hit ISIS targets, yet the terrorist group is still holding its ground. According to recent reports, ISIS troops are inching closer to Baghdad as they continue to overtake Iraqi forces.

Meanwhile, ISIS has continued to threaten its American and British hostages, including 26-year-old U.S. service member-turned-relief worker Abdul Rahman Kassig, formerly known as Peter. His parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, told CBS News in their first TV interview on Sunday that they were sent an audio recording from their son about two weeks ago. "[He said] My time is running out," Paula Kassig said.

The Kassig's have been making public demands to ISIS for the safe release of Abdul Rahman, who formerly shared a cell with slain American journalist Steven Sotloff. "We have sent them back messages that we cannot do what you ask," Paula Kassig told CBS News. "We have tried."

Images: screenshots/YouTube