The Jihadi Friendly Omran/Syrian Boy Photographer
We were all outraged and moved by the photo of the little Syrian boy, Omran, seemingly injured and stunned sitting in an ambulance and staring out blankly at the world while White Helmet rescuers move around him. The photographer of that photo is named Mahmoud Raslan. The questions here are with Raslan, a supposedly independent journalist. Searches of his Facebook profile (by other news organizations as his profile does not seem to be active anymore) revealed photos of him with jihadists and comments where he praises suicide bombers. In one photo he takes a smiling selfie with a group of armed members of the Zenki militant group. The same men in that photo with Raslan appear to be the same men who only two weeks earlier are on video beheading a 12 year old Palestinian boy. (Also, note the Zenki group have in the past been supplied weapons by the U.S., although they are said to no longer be receiving such funds). The caption Raslan posted with his selfie states “When you see the leaders on the front, know that victory is coming, with God’s permission. From besieged Aleppo, wherein they all have their faces blackened”. So the independent journalist takes a selfie with and praises men who only two weeks earlier are on video beheading a 12 year old boy in the back of a pick up truck. There are more suspect photos and comments on Raslan’s Facebook profile which you can read about here.