Donald Trump adviser under fire after claiming Syrian refugees support Isis

Donald Trump’s senior campaign adviser came under fire after posting a video of what he said were Syrian refugees rallying for Isis in Germany.

But the origins and veracity of the video and the adviser’s claims remain uncertain at a time when Mr Trump has lambasted his Democratic adversary Hillary Clinton for what he calls unfounded comments implicating him propaganda for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis).

“SYRIAN REFUGEES RALLY FOR ISIS IN STREETS OF GERMANY. #Trump2016 #TrumpIsRight,” Daniel Scavino, Jr. wrote in a tweet, accompanied by a video of unidentified men on what appears to be a street in Bonn. The men wave the flags of the armed groups Al-Qaeda and what has since become Isis.

Buzzfeed on Monday reported that the video was originally from 2012 and showed "Salafist" — who espouse a hyper-conservative reading of Islam — at a counterdemonstration against German right-wingers outside the Saudi-funded King Fahd Academy in Bonn. German newspaper Der Spiegel had originally reported the standoff. Photos from the incident appeared to match the video in Mr Scavino’s tweet, but the origin of the video could not immediately be verified at time of publication.

Syrians began migrating to Germany and other Western European countries by the tens of thousands earlier this year. It is unclear whether any of the demonstrators in what is believed to by Scavino’s video are indeed Syrian or refugees.

Mr Trump and Mr Scavino did not respond to requests for comment. But following the publication of this article, Mr Scavino tweeted a video at The Independent featuring an unidentified man citing an unidentified "Mason" study showing "nearly 8,000 Isis fighters have infiltrated into Germany through it's refugee program."

London-based monitoring and advocacy group The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in July reported that more than 320,000 people had been killed in Syria’s civil war, which began with a 2011 popular movement against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

The conflict was exacerbated when in July 2014, after capturing large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, Isis proclaimed a caliphate, or theocratic government, that has been accused by international bodies of an array of human rights abuses and mass murder.

Despite the multiple crises driving Syrians from their homes — their resettlement in the West has faced strong opposition by political and social conservatives, who have questioned whether Isis combatants are among their ranks.

Earlier this month a Texas judge halted the state’s attorney general, Kenneth Paxton, from blocking Syrian refugees from resettling in his state. And earlier this month, local Nevada state media quoted state assemblywoman Michele Fiore as saying she wanted to shoot Syrian refugees. Assemblywoman Fiore has not responded to multiple interview requests from The Independent.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump has called to bar Muslims from entering the country after what is believed to be an Isis-inspired attack killed 14 people last week in San Bernardino, California.

Questions over Mr Scavino’s Twitter post arose as Mr Trump lambasted his potential opponent in the 2016 presidential elections, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Ms Clinton at a Saturday debate with fellow Democratic presidential hopefuls said that Mr Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the country earlier this month had played into the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis) armed group’s agenda.

“He is becoming Isis's best recruiter. They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists,” she said.

US political watchdog publication PolitiFact reported after the debate that a Google search showed no evidence for Ms Clinton’s claim that Isis had utilised Mr Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric to incense Muslims against what Isis has portrayed as a Western-led war on Islam.

Mr Trump on Monday took to Twitter demanding that Ms Clinton retract her comments, but when asked if Ms Clinton would apologize, a campaign spokesman told the media, “Hell no.”