Baghdad: British aid worker Alan Henning has been beheaded by ISIS fighter Jihadi John in a video posted online by the terror group. Before he is killed, a gaunt and tired looking Henning gives a short forced speech in which he blames his execution on Parliament’s decision to launch strikes against Islamic State in Iraq.
Henning, a 47-year-old father-of-two, was kidnapped on Boxing Day last year as he delivered aid to Syrian refugees. The clip, which is in English with Arabic subtitles, shows Jihadi John stepping forward to cut Mr Henning’s throat before the screen turns black, then shows his body lying on the desert floor.
The video, which emerged yesterday, shows Henning on his knees against a desert backdrop and wearing an orange prison-style outfit, with a masked militant standing over him wielding a combat knife before the video cut to his beheading.
Obama, you have started your aerial bombardment of Shams (Syria), which keeps on striking our people, so it is only right that we continue to strike the neck of your people,” the masked militant said.
The Associated Press could not immediately verify the video’s authenticity, though it was released in the same manner as other ISIS group videos and the masked militant sounded similar to the one who carried out the other slayings.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said, We will do all we can to hunt down these murderers and bring them to justice. adding that the fact that Henning was captured and killed while trying to help others “demonstrates that there are no limits to the depravity of these … terrorists”.
A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concerns of not having permission to release the information, confirmed that Peter Kassig is being held by Islamic State militants. The official declined to elaborate.
This is the fourth such video released by the Islamic State group. The full beheadings are not shown in the videos, but the British-accented, English-speaking militant holds a long knife and appears to begin cutting the three men, American reporters James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines.
Bureau Report
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