Syrian rebels behead Catholic priest Francois Murad to cheers, photographers and chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’

Syrian Catholic priest Francois Murad was beheaded by jihadi fighters, according to a report by Catholic Online which is linking the video showing the brutal murder.

Murad, age 49, was setting up a monastery in Gassanieh, northern Syria. Last Sunday, on the Christian leader’s Sabbath, extremist militants battling to remove dictator President Bashar Assad attacked the monastery and grabbed Murad.

While earlier reports suggested Murad may have been shot to death, Catholic Online reported Saturday that “The Vatican is confirming the death by beheading of Franciscan Father, Francois Murad, who was martyred by Syrian jihadists on June 23.”

The Catholic news service quotes local sources who report that the radical Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, or Al-Nusra Front, was behind the savage killing.

In video posted by Live Leak purporting to show the execution, dozens of men and boys are seen cheering on as three men are seated on the ground awaiting their grisly fate.

The men are beheaded one at a time by men holding with a kitchen knife after which the heads are placed on top of the bodies.

According to Catholic Online, the first victim was Murad.

Dozens in the crowd are seen using out their smartphones to capture the bloody scene, as a chorus of Allahu Akbar (“Allah is the greatest”) is sung with jihadi rapture.

Several observers are seen moving within inches of the bodies in an effort to capture close-up photos.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has questioned the US efforts to aide the rebels after videos like this surfaced showing a rebel leader butchering and eating a capture soldier and murder prisoners “execution style.”

Full video – VERY GRAPHIC — Video: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ead_1372329728