Vid.Seems to Show Beheading of Missing American Journalist
James Foley went missing in November 2012
A video posted online Tuesday purportedly shows an Islamist extremist beheading James Foley, an American journalist kidnapped in Syria more than 18 months ago.
A graphic video of the purported killing, whose authenticity could not be immediately verified, was posted online Tuesday and quickly spread on social media. The video, which appears to be the work of the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, declares the act “A Message to #America (from the #IslamicState)” and retribution for the United States’ intervention against ISIS in Iraq. Some versions of the video and Twitter accounts circulating it were quickly taken offline Tuesday evening, though the video soon appeared on YouTube again.
TIME is not publishing the video. The video also includes a threat to kill Steven Sotloff, a freelance journalist who has written for TIME among other outlets, and has been missing since August 2013.
A Facebook page affiliated with the Foley family’s campaign for his release posted a message Tuesday saying it couldn’t confirm the authenticity of the video or Foley’s fate.
“We know that many of you are looking for confirmation or answers,” the post read. “Please be patient until we all have more information, and keep the Foleys in your thoughts and prayers.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council said the American intelligence community “is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity.”
“If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” NSC spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said. “We will provide more information when it is available.”
On Tuesday evening, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said in a statement that President Obama had been briefed on the video by Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. “The President will continue to receive regular updates,” Schultz said.
Foley “was taken by an organized gang after departing from an internet cafĂ© in Binesh, Syria,” near the Turkish border, the FBI said in an alert following the Nov. 22, 2012, kidnapping. He was in Binesh covering the Syrian civil war for theGlobalPost website and AFP.
Comments