Islamists behead more than 50 people on a soccer field in Mozambique

Islamist militants have beheaded more than 50 people, cut up the bodies of victims and kidnapped women in a gruesome attack in Mozambique.

The bodies of the dismembered victims were found strewn across a clearing in the woods Monday after a soccer field was turned into a “field of execution.”

At least 15 boys were among the dead, and some of the victims are believed to have been teenagers participating in a male initiation ceremony.

The attack is the latest in a growing wave of jihadist violence in Mozambique by extremists linked to ISIS.

Islamist militants in Mozambique (file photo) beheaded more than 50 people, cut up the bodies of victims and kidnapped women in a gruesome attack in Mozambique

Some of the gunmen are said to have chanted “Allahu Akbar” when they stormed a village and kidnapped some of its women, while others massacred the victims in nearby Muatide, according to BBC News.

“The police learned about the massacre committed by the insurgents through reports of people who found bodies in the forest,” said an official in the Mueda district.

“It was possible to count 20 bodies spread over an area of ​​about 500 meters (yards),” he added.

“These were young people who were in a rite of passage ceremony accompanied by their advisers.”

A humanitarian worker in Mueda, who also declined to be identified, confirmed that the massacre had taken place and said that some of the children had come from that area.

He said the body parts had been sent to their families for burial on Tuesday.

“The funerals were held in an environment of great pain,” said the worker. “The bodies were already decomposing and could not be shown to those present.”

The militants had attacked several nearby villages over the weekend, looting and burning houses before retreating into the surrounding bush.

Jihadists have wreaked havoc in Mozambique’s northeastern Cabo Delgado province for the past three years, devastating towns and cities as part of a campaign to establish an Islamist caliphate.

Mozambican soldiers patrol the northern city of Mocimboa da Praia before it was taken over by ISIS militants amid an ongoing insurgency.

Militants have stepped up their offensive in recent months and violently seized territory, terrorizing citizens in the process.

In April, jihadists shot dead and beheaded more than 50 youths for allegedly refusing to join their ranks.

The riots have killed more than 2,000 people since 2017, more than half of them civilians, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Group.

More than 400,000 people have been displaced by the conflict and have sought refuge in nearby towns and cities.

About 10,000 people fled to the provincial capital, Pemba, by boat in the past week alone, Doctors Without Borders said on Tuesday, raising concerns about access to clean water and sanitation.

Little is known about the Mozambican jihadists, who call themselves Al-Shabab, although they have no known ties to the group of that name operating in Somalia.

Last year, the militants pledged loyalty to ISIS.