An American journalist was apparently beheaded by the Islamic State (IS), a newly released video by the terrorist organization shows. The incident comes within two weeks of America's airstrikes on ISIS in Iraq.
James Wright Foley, a 40-year-old freelance journalist for GlobalPost, was abducted at gunpoint near the town of Taftanaz in northern Syria on Thanksgiving Day in 2012. At the time, he was in Syria reporting about the civil war there.
In the 5 minute-long video, 'A Message to America,' Foley was told to read a letter criticizing the involvement of the United States in helping the Iraqi Army and Kurdish fighters to oppose the militant group's efforts to capture whole of Iraq and set up a caliphate.
"I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government. For what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality," Foley says in the video. He also addressed a message his brother John who works with the U.S. Air Force. Foley told John to think about who bombed Iraq recently. "Think, John. Who did they really kill? And did they think about me, you and our family when they made that decision?" he asked. "I died that day, John, when your colleagues dropped that bomb on those people; they signed my death certificate... I guess all in all, I wish I wasn't American." The IS militant then executes Foley.
The terrorist in the video is speaking in English. He threatens that the life of another journalist Steven Sotloff of TIME Magazine, who is also being held captive by the IS. His fate will reportedly depend on the next decision U.S. President Barack Obama makes. Sotloff was kidnapped in 2013.
Initially, some doubted the authenticity of the video. However, the mother of Foley confirmed his death on Facebook page 'Free James Foley.'
"We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people," Diane Foley said. She also pleaded with captors to free the other hostages, as they do not have any control over America's policies on Iraq and Syria. Diane also asked for privacy in the coming days.
The Committee to Protect Journalists also condemned the act, saying the incident "sickens all decent people." It also emphasized that at least 69 other journalists have been killed in Syria covering the civil war.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden issued a statement saying the intelligence community was working as "quickly as possible" to determine the validity of the terrorist video. "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," she said.
NBC News reported Foley was a native of Rochester, New Hampshire, and reported on clashes in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, where he was once held captive for 44 days.
The GlobalPost website, CEO and co-founder Philip Balboni said in a statement that the organization appreciates "all of the messages of sympathy and support that have poured in since the news of Jim's possible execution first broke" and asked for "prayers for Jim and his family."
President Obama is expected to make a statement about Foley's death Wednesday.
