Tag Archives: beheading

International

Breaking: “Jihadi John” Reportedly Targeted By U.S. Airstrike

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Washington D.C.-  Multiple media sources are reporting tonight that the U.S. military launched an airstrike, targeting Jihadi John.  At this point, U.S. officials say it is unclear if that strike actually killed the man who’s real name is Mohammed Emwhazi.

The Kuwaiti-born Mohammed Emwazi turned into one of Britain’s most notorious terrorists, wanted dead or alive, after murdering British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the strike took place around the Syrian city of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital.

“We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate,” Cook said.

In July, multiple media sources claimed that Jihadi John had  reportedly fled Islamic State-controlled territory, fearing that the publicity surrounding him will eventually result in his head served on a plate by his fellow terrorists.

 Interestingly, U.S. media jumped all over the story of only one high profile terrorist possibly being targeted by U.S. drone strike while completely ignoring that Russian forces helped to end, this week, an ISIS siege of a key air base in Aleppo.
As we reported, the siege had been ongoing since 2013, with ISIS forces surrounding the facility as around 1000 Syrian troops clung to their positions awaiting liberation. Reporters have theorized that ISIS’ infamous brutality might have prevented the Syrian troops from surrendering out of fears that they might face the types of executions that have befallen ISIS’ widely-publicized victims.

Syrian state TV claimed that dozens of ISIS fighters died in the battle, and a soldier who had been defending the base said that hundreds of extremist corpses were found around its perimeter.

 

International

Man arrested in Saudi Arabia for filming the beheading of a woman

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The Saudi Arabian police have arrested the man who filmed the public beheading of a woman in the streets of Mecca.

The footage, according to the Independent, showed Laila Bint Abdul Muttalib Bassim being dragged through the streets of Mecca before four police officers surrounded her in the street. A man in a white robe then steps forward with a curved sword and deals three blows to Bassim’s neck, severing her head from her body.

Bassim was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering her stepdaughter, according to Mediaite, but she claimed her innocence in the video up until the first sword blow met her neck.

“I did not kill. There is no God but God. I did not kill,” Bassim said while the police and executioner surrounded her. “This is injustice… I did not kill.”

After the public execution, the footage of the event was posted online by a human rights activist group in order to draw attention to the judicial system in place in the country. A UN investigation into the trials which have led to executions in Saudi Arabia called the trials “grossly unfair,” according to the Daily Mail.

Once the Saudi government saw the video online, an unnamed man was brought into custody, and a Saudi official told the New York Times, the man will face charges related to cyber-security.

The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), an organization based in Mecca, according to VICE News, said the dissemination of the footage is a crime and they want the person who filmed the execution punished.

“Those who disseminated the clip are not less guilty than those who filmed the execution,” said Mohammed Al Sahli, a member of the NSHR.

Other videos have been circulating online depicting public executions in Saudi Arabia. According to the Times of Israel, 10 people have been executed publicly this year already, while the number of public executions in 2014 was 87.

International

Another U.S. Hostage Beheaded By ISIS

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A video released early Sunday morning on the Internet shows the terrorist group ISIS, or ISIL, taking claim of another American victim.

The video, which intelligence officials are attempting to validate, claims to show that captured U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig has been killed.

According to NBC News, the video features a masked militant with a British accent standing over a severed head. “This is Peter Edward Kassig, a U.S. citizen,” said the militant.

Kassig was born Peter Kassig, but changed his name after converting to Islam. Kassig, 26, was from Indiana and was working as a humanitarian aid worker in Syria when he was captured by ISIS in October, 2013.

“We are aware of a video that claims to show the murder of U.S. citizen Peter Kassig,” said National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan in a statement. “The intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity. If confirmed, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American aid worker and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, said the video illustrated the “depravity” of ISIS and that he was “horrified by the cold blooded murder of Abdul-Rahman Kassig.”

Kassig’s family has also released a statement: “The family respectfully asks that the news media avoid playing into the hostage takers’ hands and refrain from publishing or broadcasting photographs or video distributed by the hostage takers,” part of the statement reads. “We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause.”

In 2007, Kassig was deployed as a U.S. Army Ranger in Iraq before being honorably discharged on medical grounds. When he returned to the states, he started a bachelor’s degree program in political science and trained as an EMT. Eventually, he decided to move to Lebanon to work with Palestinian refugees.

He then started his own relief organization, Special Emergency Response and Assistance, which moved him to the Syrian border with Turkey. The group smuggled supplies for refugees and hospitals in Syria. He was on route to the Syrian city of Deir Ezzour when he was captured.

Kassig converted to Islam in captivity.

Post by Mercy for Abdul-Rahman Kassig – formerly known as Peter.
Politics, US

Charges for Oklahoma beheading suspect emerge as details come to light

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Days after Alton Nolen attacked two women after losing his job, murder charges are expected to be filed against him on Monday.

Nolen lost his job at Vaughan Foods in Oklahoma last Thursday and after this, Nolen reportedly went to his former workplace and carried out acts of violence against his co-workers.

Nolen reportedly drove to the Vaughan Foods processing plant, and rammed his car into another vehicle at the entrance before he entered the building.  Upon entering, it is believed he grabbed a knife, similar to those used on the production floor of Vaughan Foods, and beheaded 54-year-old Colleen Hufford, an employee at Vaughan Foods.

Then, Nolen supposedly attacked 43-year-old Traci Johnson, another employee in the plant, before he was stopped by gunfire.  Mark Vaughan is the company’s chief operating officer as well as a reserve deputy sheriff for Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, and it was only after he shot Nolen the attack stopped.

Moore Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis told the LA Times, detectives will recommend prosecutors to charge Nolen with first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

After he was released from prison in 2013 on drug related charges, Nolen reportedly became more religious and co-workers at Vaughan Foods said he had tried to convert them to Islam.

A Facebook page under the name “Jah’Keem Yisrael,” was used by Nolen before the attacks according to CNN.  The page contains pictures of Nolen as well as posts and pictures regarding Islam and the Quran.  Some of these pictures are of al-Qaeda chiefs as well as the 9/11 attacks.

There were also disturbing posts on this Facebook page.  One post reportedly showed a beheaded man with the quote, “I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their fingertips off them.”

The Oklahoma Conference of Churches made a statement Saturday saying, “The Islamic Community of Oklahoma has consistently condemned all violence — most especially acts of violence ostensibly carried out in the name of Islam… Along with our Muslim brothers and sisters we affirm that true Islam is, in fact, a religion of peace and that those inflicting violence in the name of Islam are perverting Islam for their own ends.”

After undergoing surgery, Nolen spoke to investigators on Friday, but no details have emerged form these interviews.

Featured, International

BREAKING: Third Captive Executed By ISIS

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In a video released Saturday on a website associated with the group ISIS, British aid worker David Haines was executed, making him the third Western captive to be killed by the extremist group in recent weeks, according to CNN.

The video, entitled “a message to the allies of America,” was produced similarly to the videos that showed the executions of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. In Sotloff’s video, Haines appears at the end where his life is threatened.

At the end of the new video, masked ISIS militant places his hand on another captive, whom he identified as Alan Henning, a British citizen.

Haines was a logistics and security manager for the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, a nongovernmental humanitarian agency. Haines, 44, was abducted in March 2013 near a refugee camp in Atmeh, Syria.

Here is a transcription of the video:

Video cuts to a black screen with Arabic text and “A Message to the Allies of America” written in English before showing Haines on his knees in an orange jumpsuit with an executioner dressed in black standing to his left and holding a knife.

Haines: My Name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I hold you, David Cameron, entirely responsible for my execution.

You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State, just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend amongst our British prime ministers who can’t find the courage to say no to the Americans.

Unfortunately, it is we the British public that in the end will pay for the price for our parliament’s selfish decisions.

Executioner: This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State.

Ironically, he has spent a decade of his life serving under the brutal air force that is responsible for delivering those arms.

Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam, will only accelerate your destruction, and playing the role of the obedient lapdog, Cameron, will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war.

If you, Cameron, insist on fighting the Islamic State then you, like your master, Obama, will have the blood of your people on your hands.

Video from CNN:

Featured, International, Politics, US

Sotloff family says their son was sold to ISIS prior to beheading

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A family spokesman for the Sotloff family is now saying their son Steven, who was the second American journalist to be beheaded on film by ISIS, was sold to the Islamic State by moderate rebels in the Middle-East.

“For the first time we can say Steven was sold at the (Syrian) border,” said Sotloff family representative and research fellow at the New American Foundation, Barak Barfi, according to CBS News.  “We believe these so-called moderate rebels that people want our administration to support- one of them sold him probably for something between $25,000 and $50,000 and that was the reason he was captured.”

Barfi also says he received a phone call from Sotloff, before he was kidnapped, from inside the Syrian border.  According to RT, Barfi says “sources on the ground” are pointing to rebel forces who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as hose responsible for tipping off members of ISIS to their capture and willingness to sell Sotloff.

These moderate rebels who captured Sotloff and have been waging this war against al-Assad have reportedly received support from the U.S. in the form of weapons and training to support their opposition to al-Assad.  A report from the research group Conflict Armament Research has also said the weapons, which have been given to the moderate Syrian rebels, have ended up in the hands of ISIS fighters across the region.

After making these statements, Barfi said the relationship between the Sotloff family and President Obama’s administration has been strained and tense.

“They (the administration) said that these hostages were moved frequently,” Barfi told CNN.  ” We know that for most of the beginning of part of this year they were stationary. We know that the intelligence community and the White House are enmeshed in a larger game of bureaucratic infighting and Jim and Steve are pawns in that game and that’s not fair.”

“We need to be able to work closer with our allies,” Barfi said, according to the International Business Times. “Intelligence sharing and cooperation just isn’t as good as it should be.”

International

Another U.S. Journalist Beheaded in New ISIS Video – Transcript Released

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Two weeks after the barbaric murder of journalist James Foley, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, released a video today allegedly showing the beheading of a second American journalist, Steven Sotloff.

In the video, which authorities haven’t confirmed its authenticity, the group warns President Barack Obama that as long as  U.S. airstrikes against the militant group continue, “our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.”

According to CBS, the Sotloff family has seen the video: “The family knows of this horrific tragedy and is grieving privately. There will be no public comment from the family during this difficult time,” said Barak Barfi, a family spokesperson.

Sotloff, a 31-year-old journalist who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines went missing in Syria in August of last year. He wasn’t seen again until the Foley video last month. In that video, Sotloff was threaten with death unless the U.S. stopped airstrikes on the group in Iraq.

Here is a transcript of the video entitled “A Second Message To America”:

Sotloff:

I am Steven Joel Sotloff. I’m sure you know exactly who I am now and why I am appearing before you. And now this time for my message:

Obama, your foreign policy of intervention in Iraq was supposed to be for the preservation of American lives and interests, so why is it that I am paying the price of your interference with my life? Am I not an American citizen? You’ve spent billions of U.S. taxpayers dollars, and we’ve lost thousands of our troops in our previous fighting against the Islamic State, so where is the people’s interest in reigniting this war?

From what little I know about foreign policy, I remember a time you could not win an election without promising to bring our troops back home from Iraq and Afghanistan and to close down Guantanamo. Here you are now, Obama, nearing the end of your term and having achieving none of the above and deceivingly marching us the American people in the blazing fire.

Executor:

I’m back, Obama, and I’m back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State, because of your insistence on continuing your bombing and [unclear] on Mosul Dam, despite our serious warning. You, Obama, have but to gain from your actions but another American citizen. So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.

We take this opportunity to warn those governments that enter this evil alliance of America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said U.S. intelligence analysts are working as quickly as possible to determine if the video is authentic.

“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 and we will provide more information as it becomes available,” she said.

She added that she believe that “a few” Americans are still being held by the Islamic State but did not provide additional details.

 

Featured, US

Islamic Militants Execute American Journalist

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A video posted online Tuesday by The Islamic State showed the beheading of American journalist James Foley who was kidnapped in November 2012 while he covered the Syrian civil war.

The group, also known as ISIS, posted the video on YouTube. In it, Foley, wearing orange, is seen kneeling next to a man dressed in black. He reads a statement, presumably written by his captors. In it, he claims that America is his “real killer.”

“I wish I had more time. I wish I could have the hope for freedom to see my family once again,” Foley said in the video.

He continues with a message to his parents: “Save me some dignity and don’t accept any meager compensation for my death from the same people who effectively hammered the last nail in my coffin with their recent aerial campaign in Iraq.”

In a slightly quivering voice, Foley then calls on his brother, John, whom he said serves in the U.S. Air Force, to “think about who made the decision to bomb Iraq recently and kill those people, whoever they may have been. I died that day, John, when your colleagues dropped the bomb on those people. They signed my death certificate.”

After his statement, the terrorist moves behind Foley to execute him with a knife.

Government officials are investigating the validity of this 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,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.

Foley was previously held captive while reporting on the civil war in Libya in 2011. He was released, and then he returned to the Middle East to cover the Syrian civil war and was taken captive on Thanksgiving Day, 2012. He was forced into a vehicle by men with guns and not heard from again.

The video also features another American journalist Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped at the Syria/Turkey border in 2013.

According to the video, Sotloff’s life depends on what President Obama does next in Iraq.

Foley’s mother, Diane, released a statement Tuesday:

“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.

“We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.

“We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.”

Foley’s alma mater, Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis. also released a statement:

The Marquette community is deeply saddened by the death of alumnus and freelance journalist, James Foley, Arts ’96. We extend our heartfelt prayers and wishes for healing to James’ family and friends during this very difficult time.

James, who majored in history at Marquette, had a heart for social justice and used his immense talents to tell the difficult stories in the hopes that they might make a difference in the world – a measure of his character for which we could not be prouder.

Following his first capture in 2011, after he safely returned from Libya, James expressed in a letter to the Marquette community the power and strength he drew not only from his own prayer, but the prayers of his family and friends. As a community, we offer this prayer for peace.