On 26 January 2016, Marwan Mahmoud al-Eissa was murdered in Deiz ez-Zor. The 41 year old was a journalist and political analyst who was working for the official Al-Nataq network before the city fell to Daesh. He then remained in the city as a correspondent for Al Jazeera despite the potential threats to his life.

Al-Eissa was targeted by Daesh who accused him of “treason” and working for the west by giving information and coordinates to hostile groups. He was stabbed to death in the street.

On the same day Daesh executed four other journalists in the city of Deiz ez-Zor in similarly cruel fashion. All of these killings were published on social media by the organisation in an attempt to silence future dissent and reinforce their brutally totalitarian regime.