Syrian activists say al-Qaida-linked jihadists have mistakenly beheaded a wounded fellow fighter.

Rami Abdurrahman of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and another activist in the northern province of Aleppo say fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant found the wounded rebel in a hospital after a battle with government forces on Wednesday.

They said he was moaning phrases typical of Shiites. Shiites in Syria and its neighbors have fought on behalf of President Bashar Assad, who comes from an offshoot of the sect.

The activist spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.

The fighters later displayed the man's head before a crowd in Aleppo city. But residents identified it as belonging to a leader of another hard-line rebel group, Ahrar al-Sham.