SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy brandishing the head of a Syrian soldier - PHOTO

The young son of an Australian jihadist has been photographed gripping the severed head of a slain Syrian soldier.

Khaled Sharrouf's son, believed to be aged seven, used both hands to hoist the decapitated head up as he posed for a chilling photo.His proud father, one of Australia's most-wanted terrorists and a suspected war criminal, posted the photo to Twitter on August 8 with the caption: 'Thats my boy!'.The extremely graphic photo - seen on Twitter by Daily Mail Australia - is believed to have been taken in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, according to The Australian.With an uncomfortable expression on his face and clearly struggling to grip the head in his hands, the boy stands posing in front of a fence that featured the severed heads of apparent enemies of ISIL (also known as ISIS).Dressed in an innocent blue t-shirt, checkered shorts, sandals and a cap - the youngster looks more as if he's dressed for a holiday tour than a warzone.Tony Abbott said photographs such as this one highlighted the 'barbaric' nature of ISIL, which he said was trying to establish a 'terrorist state' in Iraq.'We see more and more evidence of just how barbaric this entity is,' he told ABC Radio.'I believe there are more photographs in the newspapers in Australia today of the kind of hideous atrocities this group is capable of.'Mr Abbott also stated the Australian government's willingness to join the humanitarian effort to supply aid to ten of thousands of Yazidi people and Christians trapped by ISIL in Iraq.Defence Minister David Johnston told ABC radio he was 'revolted' by the images and said they revealed the need for the tough counter-terrorism laws the government announced last week.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten condemned the photograph of the boy as a 'shocking, evil image' but said he was wary of using the photograph for political purposes and said Labor would be discussing the proposed changes to anti-terror legislation.Mr Shorten said the key question that needed to be answered was: 'How on earth this guy got out of Australia on his brother's passport... It's shocking he’s gone through our passport system and go to where he’s gone,' he said.(dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.az