Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Isis 'burns crates of halal chicken from the US' intended for starving civilians in Syria

Militants claimed the meat had been slaughtered 'unlawfully'

Heather Saul
Friday 03 April 2015 07:43 EDT
Comments
A man stands next to the burning pyre
A man stands next to the burning pyre

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Isis has released pictures purporting to show boxes of halal chicken intended for starving civilians being burned on a huge pyre, because the birds had been killed in the US.

Two trucks transporting boxes of food aid were apparently stopped at a checkpoint in Aleppo province in an area under the militant group’s control on Wednesday.

Images from a propaganda account affiliated with Isis show militants emptying the trucks, which were filled with chicken legs, fruit and vegetables, and dumping them at the bottom of a hill in the Akhtarin countryside, in north Aleppo.

The trucks were stopped by Isis at a checkpoint in Aleppo
The trucks were stopped by Isis at a checkpoint in Aleppo

The boxes of chicken were labelled ‘Koch Foods’, a chicken company in the US.

Boxes of chicken are seen being carried away
Boxes of chicken are seen being carried away

The United Nations estimates that 9.8 million people are in need of food assistance in Syra.

Abu Mohammed Hussam, an activist with the Syrian group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), said militants noticed the meat, while halal, was from an American company and immediately destroyed it.

A label on the meat shows its is halal
A label on the meat shows its is halal

When asked why they burned the meat, he told The Independent: “Isis said that the chicken is not slaughtered the Islamic way. The chicken was supposed to be going to civillians.”

He said Isis’s self-declared ‘Hisba’ police force regularly stops vehicles at crossings and has burned meat in the past which it claimed was not suitable for consumption.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in