Ive heard of this as well. I always liked the way it uses the enemy's own beliefs against them. Their religious fervor is one of their greatest strengths. Converting an opponent's strength into a weakness is always a good idea. There's probably a passage in Sun Tzu that says so! But Im sure they could just issue a fatwa that will assuage any fear of this.
There are undoubtedly many who would say that this is barbaric and not good "strategic corporal-ing". I would wager many of those people oppose the war in general, and live in the USA or Europe. But Im certain (unless there is already some religious principle that clears this up - Im no Imam) things like this will give the zealous insurgents pause.
The bad guys could also spin it to their benefit, I suppose. Go around telling people - relatives of the dead - that their loved ones are in hell because of the Americans and have been robbed of their martyrdumb. Im sure that would put the fire in them.
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