A video released by ISIS shows the beheading of American
journalist James Foley, who disappeared in November 2012 in Syria.
The video posted on YouTube
contained a message to the United States to end its military operations in
Iraq.
In the video, Foley is seen
kneeling next to a man dressed in black. He reads a message, presumably
scripted by his captors, that his "real killer'' is America.
"I wish I had more time. I
wish I could have the hope for freedom to see my family once again," Foley
can be heard saying in the video.
He is then shown being beheaded.
The National Security Council is
aware of the video.
"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 we
express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We will provide more
information when it is available," NSC spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
Foley disappeared in November 2012 in
northwest Syria, near the border with Turkey. He was
reportedly forced into a vehicle by gunmen; he was not heard from again. At the
time of his disappearance, he was working for the GlobalPost.
On Tuesday afternoon, the
Facebook group set up to support Foley and his family, "Free James
Foley," wrote, "We know that many of you are looking for confirmation
or answers. Please be patient until we all have more information, and keep the
Foleys in your thoughts and prayers."
The video also shows another
American journalist. His life is said by the militants in the video to hang in
the balance, depending on what President Barack Obama does next.
The journalist is believed to be
Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped at the Syria-Turkey border in 2013. Sotloff
is a contributor to Time and Foreign Policy magazines.
Foley grew up in New Hampshire
and graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in
2008. Like other young journalists who came of age after the September 11
terror attacks and American wars overseas, Foley was drawn to Iraq, Afghanistan
and other areas of conflict.
As a freelancer, Foley picked up
work for a number of major media outlets, including Agence France-Presse and
GlobalPost.
Foley had previously been taken
captive in Libya. He was detained there in April 2011 along with three other
reporters and released six weeks later.
Afterward, he said that what
saddened him most was knowing that he was causing his family to worry.
Friends described Foley as fair,
curious and impressively even-tempered.
"Everybody, everywhere,
takes a liking to Jim as soon as they meet him," journalist Clare Morgana
Gillis wrote in a blog post about him in May 2013, six months after he
disappeared in Syria.
"Men like him for his good
humor and tendency to address everyone as 'bro' or 'homie' or 'dude' after the
first handshake. Women like him for his broad smile, broad shoulders, and
because, well, women just like him."
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