Syria Rebel Filmed Biting Into Soldier's Heart

A Syrian rebel has been caught on video apparently cutting a dead soldier's heart from his body then taking a bite from it. "I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog," says the rebel, identified by Human Rights Watch as noted rebel figure Abu Sakkar of Homs. HRW calls the act a war crime, and Syria's leading opposition coalition has promised a trial, the BBC reports. "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," an HRW rep tells Reuters.

Sakkar is seen telling his followers to "slaughter the Alawites"—Assad's sect—"and take their hearts out to eat them" in an unedited clip, the HRW spokesman says. The video hasn't been independently authenticated, reports note. Sakkar has appeared in other videos from the Syrian crisis, including one in which he poses with the corpse of a fighter with Hezbollah, which is supporting Syria's government, HRW notes. RT News has blurry, though graphic, images from the video. (More Syria stories.)