As Jordanian jets pound ISIS targets, the terror group released a video Friday that appears to send a message that life is normal in its strongholds.
The video, a far cry from the militants’ regular footage of grisly killings, touts a new curriculum for 24 schools in the Syrian town of Raqqa, its de facto capital.
In the first part, boys of diverse races count from 1 to 10 in Arabic, hands eagerly shooting up when the teacher asks a question.
Outside, a group plays during what appears to be recess, wearing hooded jackets and wool hats. Temperatures in Raqqa have ranged between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit this week.
The terror group also distributed video of women covered from head to toe as they make niqabs in Iraq. They then pack and distribute the veils in Mosul, where ISIS claims the video was taken.
And the men are not left out, either.
Other photos claim to show a Sharia institute in Kirkuk, Iraq. At the facility, about 30 men sit in a classroom, listening intently. In the next frame, some appear to have traded their pens for guns as they stand in a group photo.
CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the photos and videos released by the terror group’s media arm. It’s unclear when they were shot.
The international community has condemned ISIS, or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which now refers to itself as the “Islamic State.”
Last year, the terror group declared it had established a “caliphate” spanning Iraq and Syria. Since then, it has gone on a murderous rampage that has included beheadings of foreigners. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Syrians have fled areas it has seized.
In a recent attack, ISIS released a video Tuesday showing its fighters burning Jordanian captive and pilot Lt. Moath al-Kasasbeh to death. The Middle East nation hit back Thursday, unleashing fighter jets to ISIS strongholds in retaliation.
Jordan’s King Abdullah has said his military will pursue ISIS until it “runs out of fuel and bullets.”
It’s unclear why ISIS released the videos now, but it appears to be an effort to counter the narrative of a terror group under siege.