ISIS Releases Video of Beheading of Another US Journalist
Source: bbc.com
Islamic State ’beheading of US hostage Sotloff’ sparks outrage
An Islamic State video purporting to show the beheading of US hostage Steven Sotloff has sparked outrage.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the act would be a "despicable crime".
The US is still trying to verify the video but said the killing if confirmed would be one of "sickening brutality".
His family said they were "grieving privately". Mr Sotloff, 31, was seized in Syria in 2013. He appeared in a video last month which showed fellow US journalist James Foley being killed.
A militant in the latest video also threatens to kill a British hostage, who is shown in the footage.
The family of the British hostage have asked the media not to release his name.
The militant has a voice with a British accent similar to that of the man who appeared to carry out the beheading of James Foley.
Prime Minister David Cameron is convening a meeting of the UK’s Cobra emergency committee to discuss the matter.
After the news of the video emerged, US President Barack Obama ordered the deployment of another 350 troops to Baghdad to protect US diplomatic facilities.
Islamic State has seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in recent months, declaring a new caliphate, or Islamic state, under leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The US has launched more than 120 air strikes in the past month to try to help Kurdish forces curb the IS advance.
’Grieving privately’
US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US was working to determine if the video was authentic.
She said: "If the video is genuine, we are sickened by this brutal act, taking the life of another innocent American citizen. Our hearts go out to the Sotloff family."
Ms Psaki said it was believed that "a few" other Americans were still being held by Islamic State.
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Read the full article at: bbc.com
Jihadi John’: Identity of Isis militant who beheaded Steven Sotloff and James Foley still a mystery
