In the light of the latest video posted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), speculations have been raised that due to the captives looking calm before being killed, the videos might only be showing mock executions.

Viewers are asking why these people that are about to be shot or beheaded look so calm and can still talk calmly even if in just a matter of minutes, their life will be taken. Also, the captives being killed are not shown on the videos or there is no proof that they were really shot or beheaded.

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Analysts say these are not mock execution but the calmness of these hostages are due to them being put through the same experience over and over again. Meaning, they were videoed before and were told that they will die but it never happened.

When the real killing is about to happen, they do not know anything about it. This makes them look and act calm all throughout the video as they are forced to confess crimes they did not do.

According to a British television company, a former Islamic State member named "Saleh" said the hostages are put through mock executions. The prisoners are also told that they will not be killed or their lives are not in danger but eventually, they are executed.

Saleh's interview is the first confirmation that mock executions do happen and that it is a form of psychological torture for the hostages. According to reports, Islamic State militants might have learned to practice this from the experiences of their forerunners.

Mock executions were suspected since last year when American Journalist James Foley was videoed. Analysts and counterterrorism officials believed that Foley underwent mock executions that is why he was calm in the video and was compliant with whatever the jihadists asked him to say.

Aki Peritz, a former CIA counterterrorism analyst, said people who know they will be killed plead for their lives and act more unpredictable and irrational than the hostages of the Islamic State.

Videos that do not proof that the hostages were indeed killed are cut short, analyst say. This is because the moment that the hostages understand that they will be executed, they might struggle or say other things that would ruin the propaganda video of the Islamic State, analysts explain.

TagsISIS, ISIS video, mock execution