Interpol boss: We should rename IS

The world should rename the extremist group who have murdered Western hostages Cowardly Murderers (CM) instead of the Islamic State (IS) name the jihadists prefer, the head of international police agency Interpol said.

Secretary General Ronald Noble said the beheading of UK aid worker Alan Henning was “testament to the depravity” of the organisation and showed it had nothing religious about it.

Joining calls for a blackout of the “Islamic State” name, he said: “The cruel murder of an innocent man who freely gave his time to assist the people of the very region where he met his death is a testament to the depravity of this terrorist group, which is seeking to create a reign of terror across the region.

“I ask the global community: why should we allow a bloodthirsty group of terrorists to name themselves after a religion as a pretext to justify their heinous crimes that no religion would justify?

“I propose that the global community and law enforcement rename this group as CM for Cowardly Murderers.

“By doing this, we will remove their efforts to legitimise their crimes and put would-be foreign fighters on notice that if they join this group, then the world will see them as nothing more than cowardly murderers.

“Finally, let me stress that the cold-blooded and barbaric murder of Alan Henning only serves to harden the resolve of the global community to increase our efforts against the growing threat posed by militant terrorist groups, and bring those responsible for committing such atrocities to justice.”