[ Video ] Elderly woman challenges Islamic State militants, calling them 'devils'

[Muslera]

Elderly woman challenges Islamic State militants, calling them 'devils'

Video of elderly woman berating Islamic State militiamen goes viral in Middle East



By Colin Freeman, Chief foreign correspondent, video source YouTube / Sonny Bend
5:25PM GMT 13 Feb 2015

An online video that appears to show an elderly Syrian woman berating a truck full of Isil militiamen has become a hit in the Middle East.

Unimpressed by their ruthless reputation, the woman accuses the men of dragging Syria back in time, and warns them "a bed of hellfire" awaits them for their murderous ways.

The men try to laugh off of her remarks, but seem to become uncomfortable as she ignores their orders to go away. With other people looking on, it appears that they are reluctant to issue a punishment beating or worse.

It has not been possible to verify the authenticity of the video, or whether the gunmen in it are definitely from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) group rather than some other militia faction. However, since it surfaced this week it has attracted huge traffic on the Internet, and has now also been subtitled into English.

The clip starts with the woman leaning into the jihadists' car, and asks them about the "slaughter" of a local Kurd and various other people..

"Oh you devils, turn back to God," she says. "It's all forbidden. I swear nothing what you have done was in the way of God."

Elderly woman scathes the Islamic State militants, who appear to be sat in a vehicle. Credit: YouTube / Sonny Bend

She quotes passages from the Koran and also accuses them of violating the teachings of venerated Syrian Sunni Muslim imams.

"None of you will win anything, not you or Bashar (Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president). It's all shit, making us go backwards, none of you are good."

One of the militiamen, who are not seen in the video, replies: "Grandmother we don't have any free time, go away."

Woman continues her verbal assault on the militants, calling them "donkeys". Credit: YouTube / Sonny Bend

Unintimated, however, she presses on. "Neither of you will win, nor will anybody, you only will keep killing each other like donkeys," she says.

"Granny is a poet," the militiamen joke, although this time with a note of anxiety in their voices.

In the last moments of the video she delivers her final warning, saying a "bed of hell-fire" awaits them.

"God is watching what you are doing," she adds.