HSBC fires employees after mock Islamic State video

HSBC has fired six employees who staged a mock Islamic State group-style killing during a team-building exercise.

The Sun newspaper reported Tuesday the footage posted online showed five workers wearing overalls and balaclavas laughing as a South Asian colleague wearing an orange jumpsuit knelt at their feet.

One held a coat hanger as a pretend knife while another held the kneeling man by the shoulders. One employee then yells “Allahu Akbar!” — Arabic for “God is great” — a phrase often used before IS hostages are slain.

A London bus is reflected as it drives past an HSBC plaque in St James’s Street in London, Tuesday, June 9, 2015.
HSBC says in a statement it had fired those involved in the “abhorrent” video as soon as the Sun brought it to their attention. The company apologized for any offense the video caused.

ASSOCIATED PRESS