Remember we broke down ISISfor you the other day? The organisation terrorising entire villages in northern Iraq? Well, they’ve really stepped up their campaign now, beheading an American photo-journalist and filming the sickening act before putting it on YouTube.
James Wright Foley, 40, went missing while working in Syria in late 2012 and until the ISIS video, his family had no idea where he was, or who kidnapped him, or why.
In the truly horrific video, James read a statement blaming the US for his pending death and was even forced to tell his own brother to ‘think about what he’s doing’ as a member of the US Air Force.
‘I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government. For what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality. My message to my beloved parents: Save me some dignity, and don’t accept some minor compensation for my death from the same people who effectively hit the last nail in my coffin with their recent aerial campaign in Iraq.
‘I call on my brother John, who is a member of the US Air Force: Think about what you are doing. Think about the lives you destroy, including those of your own family… I wish I could have the hope of freedom and seeing my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn’t American.’
A man dressed in black stands next to James, wielding a knife which he then uses to behead James. He demands that the US ceases its airstrikes on Iraq.
‘So any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people,’ he says.
The man then drags another American journalist Steven Joel Sotloff into the picture and threatens his life unless President Obama pulls his troops from the country. ‘The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision,’ says the executioner. It is alleged that the jihadist sounds British when he speaks, reports The Mirror.
The five-minute video has been removed from YouTube, but graphic screenshots of James’ execution are still all over the internet. We won’t post any of them here, nor link to a video that was re-posted elsewhere.
James Wright Foley was previously held hostage in Libya for 44 days in 2011. He was freelance and working as a photographer for Agence France Presse (AFP) when he was captured.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.