Terrorist group ISIS released a video Saturday purportedly showing the execution of British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines.
If confirmed, it is the third time the organization, which has seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria, beheaded a captive and released a video of the execution, intending to send a message to Western nations. Britain recently said it would send machine guns and ammunition to Iraq to help that government battle the militants, and it is weighing whether to participate along with the U.S. in possible airstrikes in Syria against the terror group.
Haines, 44, like others in taped executions by the terror group, is forced in the new video to read a script in which he blamed his death on British Prime Minister David Cameron and the British government’s decision to join the U.S. in its battle against ISIS.
A black-clad, masked militant holding a knife then says the execution is in retaliation for Britain’s decision to supply arms to Kurdish fighters battling ISIS in Iraq.
After the murder, another captive is shown and the executioner warns Cameron, "you will have the blood of your people on your hands,” if the U.K. continues to ally with the U.S. in its campaign against the group.
Cameron called the execution "an act of pure evil," and vowed, "We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."
President Barack Obama said in a statement that, "The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of UK citizen David Hains” and offered his condolences to the family and the country.
“The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve. We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world,” Obama said in the statement.
Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, said in a statement that the video "has demonstrated a degree of brutality which defies description."
"It should be remembered that Mr Haines was in the region as an aid worker helping local people. His murder will be totally condemned by all people with any sense of humanity," he said.
A spokesperson for the British Embassy said the government is offering Haines' family "every support possible."
Haines, a father of two, was reported abducted in early 2013 in Syria while working for an aid group.
ISIS released a video Sept. 2 showing the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped in Syria in August 2013. Another American journalist, James Foley, was executed in a video released Aug. 19.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/is...m-behead-british-hostage-david-haines-n202836
If confirmed, it is the third time the organization, which has seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria, beheaded a captive and released a video of the execution, intending to send a message to Western nations. Britain recently said it would send machine guns and ammunition to Iraq to help that government battle the militants, and it is weighing whether to participate along with the U.S. in possible airstrikes in Syria against the terror group.
Haines, 44, like others in taped executions by the terror group, is forced in the new video to read a script in which he blamed his death on British Prime Minister David Cameron and the British government’s decision to join the U.S. in its battle against ISIS.
A black-clad, masked militant holding a knife then says the execution is in retaliation for Britain’s decision to supply arms to Kurdish fighters battling ISIS in Iraq.
After the murder, another captive is shown and the executioner warns Cameron, "you will have the blood of your people on your hands,” if the U.K. continues to ally with the U.S. in its campaign against the group.
Cameron called the execution "an act of pure evil," and vowed, "We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."
President Barack Obama said in a statement that, "The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of UK citizen David Hains” and offered his condolences to the family and the country.
“The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve. We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world,” Obama said in the statement.
Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, said in a statement that the video "has demonstrated a degree of brutality which defies description."
"It should be remembered that Mr Haines was in the region as an aid worker helping local people. His murder will be totally condemned by all people with any sense of humanity," he said.
A spokesperson for the British Embassy said the government is offering Haines' family "every support possible."
Haines, a father of two, was reported abducted in early 2013 in Syria while working for an aid group.
ISIS released a video Sept. 2 showing the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped in Syria in August 2013. Another American journalist, James Foley, was executed in a video released Aug. 19.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/is...m-behead-british-hostage-david-haines-n202836
