WASHINGTON: The Islamic militant group claimed Saturday it beheaded British aid worker David Haines, in what would be the third such execution in recent weeks, after two US journalists were shown murdered.
The Islamist group released a video, available on the website of private terrorism monitoring group SITE, purportedly showing a masked militant beheading Haines.
INSITE: #IslamicState Beheads Briton David Haines, Threatens to Execute Another Briton, Alan Henning http://t.co/6cpFGOEOOb
— SITE Intelligence Group (@siteintelgroup) September 13, 2014
The two-minute-27-second video titled "A Message to the Allies of America" blames British Prime Minister David Cameron for joining forces with the United States, which has said it is at "war" with the militants and launched air strikes against them in Iraq.
"You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the ISIS, just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend amongst our British prime ministers who can't find the courage to say no to the Americans," the executioner says in the video.
The militant, who may be the same man as in the previous videos, told Britain the alliance will "accelerate your destruction" and will drag the British people into "another bloody and unwinnable war."
He also threatened to execute another British hostage.
Scottish-born Haines, 44, was taken hostage in Syria in March 2013 and was threatened in a video released this month depicting the beheading by an IS militant of the US journalist Steven Sotloff.
Haines had been working for the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), an international relief charity, and was previously involved in humanitarian work in the Balkans, parts of Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Sotloff and fellow US journalist James Foley had also been kidnapped in Syria. IS released a video claiming Foley's execution on August 19, and Sotloff's two weeks later on September 2.
ISIS murder of British hostage an 'act of pure evil': Cameron
The beheading of a British hostage by ISIS militants was an "act of pure evil," Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday, vowing Britain will do all in its power to bring the killers to justice.
Reacting to the video, the British premier said that "this is a despicable and appalling murder of an innocent aid worker," and an "act of pure evil."
The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 13, 2014
"We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."
The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 13, 2014
Cameron will chair a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee on Sunday in response to an online video purportedly showing a masked militant killing Haines.
The video appeared a day after the aid worker's family on Saturday appealed to his captors to contact them.
Prime Minster Cameron tweeted that his "heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude."
Britain's Foreign Office said they were "working as quickly as we can to try and verify" the video.
COMMENTS (9)
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@Malik:
You must be totally delusional to utter such stupid comments -- a man (that too, a development aid worker) has been beheaded in the most cruel and inhuman manner, with the rabid-crazy terrorist organization ISIS exhibiting it on a video. What evil and sinister people must be behind such actions? And you, Mr. Malik, take delight in dismissing it as a propaganda ploy of a Jewish organization? Would you say the same thing if your brother, son or father were in this poor victim's place? We need to condemn such barbaric atrocities (imagine a Medieval stone-age type of beheading in our day and age of the Internet!). The civilized world is ashamed of such "true Muslims".
First.One cannot understand why these aid workers go to thses devastated and blasted lands.Secong they do not deserve any aid.the only aid they deserve is Up the republic aid.Lastlyall journalists and aid workers including aid should be banned becasue helping these sub humans is itslef a big cirme.Of course the fact they are also carrying out the excecutions in true style of the relgion dictates.
@Malik: a perfect pakistanis
ISIS is creation of Jewish American propaganda to give a bad image for Islam. If you look at wikileaks there is strong evidence for this
The rule book needs an addition : Clause 22......when you create a monster you must be sure to first have a silver bullet capable of killing it immediately, when required.
@Jadugar: This isn't a Western issue - it's a Muslim issue and the "sad" part is that Muslim nations need the West to actually lead the process to get rid of ISIS.
seems like they are deliberately doing this to provoke action against them, I wonder why, as they know that they can never win against the brutal military power of the west, but still, they keep on doing things that are non sustainable, I wonder why they keep on doing something that will result in thier obliteration and deaths of numerous innocent. Are they marketing for a war lobby, or for arms industry........ cant figure out what exactly, but I am quite sure there is nothing Islamic behind thier efforts.....
Sad as it is but the policy makers of the western world should have known that they are playing with fire, the chances are that you may burn yourself. encouraging the young radicalized Muslim to go fight in a foreign land to achieve their selfish agenda comes with a heavy price tag, now they are paying with the lives of innocent people of their own.