The world was shocked by the photo of a boy showing the head of a Syrian soldier 2
According to The Australian, the shocking photo was shared on the Twitter page of former Australian terrorist prisoner Khaled Sharrouf with the proud caption: `That’s my son!`.
In the photo, Sharrouf’s son, under 10 years old, has a white, cute face, wearing a blue T-shirt and a baseball cap.
The handsome boy tried to grab the head of the Syrian soldier with both hands.
Another photo shows Sharrouf wearing a military uniform posing for photos with children believed to be his sons.
After appearing in an Australian newspaper, the photo was republished by many news agencies around the world and sparked a wave of strong protests.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott condemned that this photo was evidence of the barbarity of IS rebels.
`What we see is that the Islamic State is not just a terrorist group but a terrorist army, and they are seeking not just a terrorist enclave but a terrorist state,` he said.
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel also said that the photo above exposed the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to the world.
`ISIL is a threat to the civilized world, to America of course, to our interests, as well as to Europe, to Australia,` he said in Sydney.
Former Australian Army Commander Peter Leahy described the photo above as `degenerate` and `barbaric`.
Australian opposition party leader Bill Shorten called this a `horrifying image` that `shook everyone in this country to their core.`
`As a father, I don’t understand how he could put his child in a situation like that. I think it’s horrifying,` he said.
Khaled Sharrouf took a photo with three children believed to be his in Syria.
Sharrouf served four years in prison in 2009 for participating in plans to attack Sydney and Melbourne.
Australia issued an arrest warrant for him in July after discovering gruesome photos on a Twitter account believed to be his.
About 160 Australians are believed to be in the ranks of Middle Eastern rebels.
Meanwhile, Australia is also sending planes to drop food aid to thousands of Iraqis from the Yazidi minority community who are besieged by IS rebels on Mount Sinjar.
The US and UK both provided these people with food and water.
