Islamist militants 'kill reporter James Foley on video' 19 August 2014Last updated at 19:55 ET James Foley has been missing since he was seized in Syria in 2012 The Islamic State militant group has released a video online purporting to show the beheading of a US journalist. The victim was identified by the militants as James Foley, a freelancer who was seized in Syria in late 2012. The militants said it was in revenge for recent US air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq. The video has not been independently verified, but the White House said if it was genuine, the US would be "appalled by the brutal murder". Foley's family wrote on Facebook: "We know that many of you are looking for confirmation or answers. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote If (the video is) genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist” End QuoteCaitlin HaydenUS security spokeswoman 'Second prisoner' US officials confirmed that they had seen the video.
The violence has displaced an estimated 1.2 million people in Iraq. How the U.S. and Europe Failed James Foley. America doesn't negotiate with terrorists. Should it? Louafi Larbi/Reuters Somewhere in the desert of eastern Syria, a militant from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria beheaded the American journalist James Foley this week. The killer and his terrorist group are responsible for Foley’s death. They should be the focus of public anger.
But Foley’s execution is also a chilling wake-up call for American and European policymakers, as well as U.S. news outlets and aid organizations. “I wish I could have the hope of freedom and seeing my family once again, but that ship has sailed,” Foley said moments before he was killed in a craven video released by the militant group on Tuesday. This spring, four French and two Spanish journalists held hostage by Islamic State extremists were freed—after the French and Spanish governments paid ransoms through intermediaries. There are no easy answers in kidnapping cases. Publicly, European governments deny making these payments. James Foley and the Last Journalists in Syria. "It's part of the problem with these conflicts," Foley said. "We're not close enough to it. " Jonathan Pedneault On the 636th day of James Foley's captivity, and roughly the 1,250th day of Syria's uprising-turned-civil-war, a video surfaced online that claimed to show the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria beheading the American photojournalist, in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes against the Sunni extremist group in Iraq (the militants also threatened to kill the missing American journalist Steven Sotloff, who seems from the footage to be an ISIS captive as well).
The Obama administration has confirmed the authenticity of the video, and the Foley family has paid tribute to the slain reporter. "We have never been prouder of our son Jim," Foley's mother posted on Facebook on Tuesday evening. "He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people. " That exposure is growing fainter by the day. He admitted that his motivations were as prosaic as they were high-minded. James Foley beheading: Obama condemns 'barbaric' act, saying Islamic State has 'shocked the world' Updated US president Barack Obama has responded to the beheading of American journalist James Foley by Islamic State (IS) militants, saying it "shocked the conscience of the entire world". As the Pentagon said American warplanes continued to strike IS targets in Iraq, Mr Obama vowed the US would do what it must to protect its citizens.
Islamic State posted a video yesterday that showed the beheading of Foley in revenge for US air strikes in Iraq. It prompted widespread revulsion that could push Western powers into further action against the group. The video, titled A Message To America, also showed images of another US journalist, Steven Sotloff, whose fate Islamic State said depended on how the United States acts in Iraq.
Mr Obama said he had spoken with Foley's family and told them that "we are all heartbroken at their loss". He said he would join them in honouring the reporter and that his life "stands in stark contrast to his killers". Killer militant 'appears to have been British' Ukraine. Foley beheading video shocks the world, Obama says. 20 August 2014Last updated at 14:40 ET The parents of James Foley said they did not watch the video US President Barack Obama has said the beheading of US journalist James Foley is "an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world".
Mr Obama compared Islamic State (IS), the group which made a video of Mr Foley's killing, to a "cancer" and said its ideology was "bankrupt". IS said Mr Foley's death was revenge for US air strikes on its fighters in Iraq. But Mr Obama pledged to continue "to do what we must do" to confront IS. The UN, UK and others have also expressed abhorrence at the video. Mr Foley's mother Diane said he "gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people". The killer speaks with a British accent, as the BBC's Frank Gardner reports.
The Foleys have not watched the video of their son's death, but James' father John said he was appalled by how his son died. "It haunts me, how much pain he was in," Mr Foley told reporters. James Foley beheading suspect probably British, David Cameron says. 20 August 2014Last updated at 15:54 ET David Cameron: "This is not a time for a knee-jerk reaction" David Cameron has said it looks "increasingly likely" a man thought to have been involved in a US journalist's beheading is British, as UK police try to confirm the militant's identity. The PM said James Foley's killing was "deeply shocking" but warned it was "not a time for a knee-jerk reaction". He also said the government would "redouble" efforts to stop Britons travelling to fight in Iraq and Syria.
Mr Foley, 40, had been missing since he was seized in Syria in 2012. The extremist group, Islamic State (IS), posted footage of the killing online, which has since been verified by the White House. The Metropolitan Police has warned that "viewing, downloading or disseminating" the video might be an offence under terrorism laws. 'Resolve and patience' Speaking in the US, Mr Foley's father, John, said he was deeply shocked at the death of his son and called him a "martyr for freedom".
Atrocities.