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"A photo which appears to show a young Australian boy in Syria holding a severed head has been labelled \"barbaric\" by Australia's prime minister.\nThe disturbing image was posted on a Twitter account supposedly owned by the boy's father, Khaled Sharrouf, with the caption \"That's my boy!\", The Australian reported.\nSee also: Inside the 'Terror Tunnels' in Gaza\nSharrouf, 33, fled Australia in December last year to fight with the extremist group now known as the Islamic State (IS). Counter-terrorism forces claim he used his brother Mostafa's passport to travel to Syria and Iraq. It is believed his wife and four children followed.\nThe photo shows a boy, believed to be seven years old, wearing a cap, a blue shirt and checkered shorts. He is using both hands to hold the bloody and blackened head as he stares towards the camera. It is believed it was taken in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa in late July and posted on Twitter last week.\nPrime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday the image, if authentic, shows the lengths IS would go to in the bloody civil conflict that has cost over 100,000 lives  as at the United Nation's final count in July 2013.\nIt shows \"the kind of hideous atrocities this group is capable of,\" he told ABC Radio. \"We see more and more evidence of just how barbaric this entity is.\"\nAnother photo shows three young children wearing camouflage gear holding machine guns and standing beside their father, Sharrouf, in front of an IS flag. \n\nA photo on a Twitter account linked to Khaled Sharrouf shows three children posing with guns.Image: TwitterAn unnamed friend told the Sydney Morning Herald the photo was purely propaganda, that Sharrouf was trying to incite the enemy, and that he would not put his children at risk. \nDefense Minister David Johnston expressed his disgust at the images and warned Australians to not let the incident cloud their view of Muslim Australians.\n\"I'm obviously revolted by that and it underscores the importance of the counter-terrorism laws we are seeking to enact,\" he told ABC Radio. \u201CI\u2019m very upset about this sort of thing completely coloring our view of Muslims. The vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving and peaceful people.\u201D\nThe child's estranged grandfather, who has not seen his daughter or the children in close to a decade, described his devastation at hearing on radio about the situation. \u201CI\u2019m scared for the children,\u201D Peter Nettleton told the Australian Daily Telegraph. \u201CWhat life are they going to have now?\u201D\n\nA Twitter photo shows former Sydney boxer Mohamed Elomar holding decapitated heads.Image: UZarqawiIn July, photos emerged on a Twitter account with the name of Abu Zarqawi Australi \u2014 which is now suspended \u2014 showing former Sydney boxer Mohamed Elomar holding decapitated heads. The account was said to be controlled by Sharrouf, a claim his family dismissed.\nSharrouf is a convicted terrorist, jailed for three years and nine months for plotting attacks in Sydney and Melbourne in 2005. He remains wanted for war crimes in Iraq and Syria.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/08/11/babaric-photo-shows-australian-child-holding-severed-head-in-syria/>