On June 30, a video surfaced on the Internet showing Russian-speaking armed men beating another man with a sledge hammer and calling him an ISIS fighter. Another man was either beheaded or dug into earth/poured over with concrete up to his neck.
After analyzing the video, we came to a conclusion that it shows fighters of Russian "Wagner" PMC. The video was likely filmed in the desert in eastern Syria. We have mentioned that "Wagner" fighters now operate at gas fields near Pal...myra which Russian companies plan to develop under agreements with the Syrian government.
https://www.facebook.com/CITeam.org/posts/813001098852869
The fighters in the video wear various items of clothing which differ from Russian Armed Forces' uniforms. Their weapons (AK-74 assault rifles and an RPK-74 machine gun) are relatively old and mostly do not have camouflage paint; this is uncharacteristic of Russia's Special Operations Forces which are also active in the area.
This also suggests that the video depicts "Wagner PMC" fighters. Another example of "Wagner" equipment can be seen in a video posted at an insider Telegram channel "338" (at 1:19) https://t.me/go338/2222
The extremely graphic video can be viewed at this link https://www.funker530.com/prisoner-sledge-hammer
Two other points are worth mentioning.
One of the fighters in the video wears a patch with a Russian translation of a quote "I'm gonna hurt you really, really badly". Interestingly, the quote comes from the movie/comic book series "Suicide squad", while "Wagner" mercenaries are known for sustaining heavy casualties in Syria.
The song in the video is called "I'm Russian Spetsnaz". The song is about the Chechen wars, in which many "Wagner" fighters participated. Its author is unknown, but its text is available online. We provide the translation of the first 8 lines:
A village is burning, a Chechen mother is running
And does not want to give her child to me.
I take my heavy assault rifle from my shoulder,
Take the child and kill the mother.
I'm Russian Spetsnaz,
I don't give a damn about anything.
Holding an assault rifle,
I go killing.
