The video, broadcast by militants in the city of Raqa in northeastern Syria and whose authenticity could not be verified, shows a frail infant being resuscitated with a respiratory mask on his face and blood-soaked cotton by his side.

His little chest is seen responding to treatment as his bloodstained head is wrapped in gauze.

“This baby’s mother was wounded in the belly, and we had to remove him. He was hit in the head by shrapnel, and the doctors are trying to save him,” said a commentary on the video footage.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also reported that the infant had been removed from his mother’s womb, and said both mother and child survived the ordeal.