"SANLIURFA, Turkey — The double murder achieved its goal. It sent the message that, even here in the relative safety of Turkey, ISIS and its supporters can reach its critics.
The bodies of 22-year-old Ibrahim Abdel Qader and 20-year-old Fares Hammadi were found early Friday in an apartment in the Turkish town of Sanliurfa. Qader had been stabbed dozens of times and both men were, in the gruesome fashion that has become ISIS's trademark, beheaded.
The deaths of the two young Syrians, both members of a citizen-journalist group called "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently," sent shockwaves through the exile Syrian community here.
How did two young men, known targets of ISIS who took measures to protect themselves, end up dead?
NBC News has now learned the answer to that question: In an exclusive interview, Ibrahim's brother, Ahmed, explained what happened.
It all started, he said, about a month and a half ago, when an acquaintance of theirs from Raqqa, Tlas Surur, arrived in Sanliurfa. The man claimed he had defected from ISIS and wanted to help the movement against them.
"He came in a smart way," Ahmed told NBC News Sunday. "Ibrahim was a good guy, welcoming, so Tlas knew he could get to him."
Surur rented an apartment just across the alley from where Ibrahim and Ahmed's family lived and, in time, grew very close to them and their circle of activist friends. Ahmed said Surur became like family and that Ibrahim often spent the night in his apartment." Via NBC News
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