HSBC Fires 6 Staff For Filming ‘Abhorrent’ Mock ISIS Execution Video, Apologizes 'For Any Offence'

HSBC sacked six of its staff members on Monday for filming a mock Islamic State group-style execution video during a team-building exercise in Birmingham, U.K., a spokesman for the British bank confirmed Tuesday, according to Agence France-Presse. The bank described the seven-second video as "abhorrent."

In the video, the bankers are seen wearing jumpsuits and balaclavas similar to those worn by ISIS militants in execution videos, the Sun reported. One staff member reportedly shouts "Allahu Akbar," while another wields a coat hanger like a knife above a colleague, who is dressed in an orange jumpsuit and pretending to be the victim.

"Once we saw this abhorrent video released by @TheSun we took the decision to sack the individuals involved. We apologise for any offence," the bank wrote on its Twitter account.

The mock video, which was posted on Instagram and was later taken down, recalls gruesome beheading videos released by ISIS. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Sunni-militant group has executed over 3,000 people since it declared an Islamic “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq in June 2014.

Last year, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning were executed by ISIS. Both of the kidnapped men were seen wearing orange jumpsuits when they were beheaded.