By Zachary Stieber,
James Wright Foley, an American journalist kidnapped in 2012, was beheaded in an ISIS video released on Tuesday, August 19.
The video is titled “A Message to America.”
A figure in a black robe with a gun strapped on his person and a masked hat covering his face, apart from his eyes, appears in the video next to Foley.
In the video, the Islamic State says that U.S. President Barack Obama’s authorization of strikes against the group places the United States “upon a slippery slope towards a new war front against Muslims,” according to BNO.
“Any attempt by you, Obama, to deny Muslims liberty & safety under the Islamic caliphate, will result in the bloodshed of your people,” the ISIS person added.
Foley also speaks in the video, saying: “I call on my friends, family members and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government.”
Foley vanished in northwest Syria on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, in 2012.
Journalist James Foley, of Rochester, N.H., responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, Friday, May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Before that, he had reported independently from the Middle East for about five years, according to the Free James Foley website. Foley was 40 years old.
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in the first official U.S. reaction to the video: “We have seen a video that purports to be the murder of U.S. citizen James Foley by ISIS. The 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 express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We will provide more information when it is available.”
The video was later taken down by YouTube for violation of its policies.
Foley’s parents told AFP last year that they were still hoping for his safe return.
But there was little indication where Foley had been until the video appeared on Tuesday. ”We haven’t been contacted by anybody asking for anything. No ransom requests,” father John Foley told AFP at the time.
“We’re staying very hopeful,” mother Diane Foley said. “We’re hearing many rumors but no facts at this point. We’ve just a very strong feeling that Jim is alive.”
Foley was one of an estimated dozens of journalists missing in Syria’s civil war
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