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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Islamist militants 'kill reporter James Foley on video' | Islamist militants 'kill reporter James Foley on video' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Islamic State militant group has released a video online purporting to show the beheading of a US journalist. | |
| The victim was identified by the militants as James Foley, a freelancer who was seized in Syria in late 2012. | The victim was identified by the militants as James Foley, a freelancer who was seized in Syria in late 2012. |
| The militants said it was in revenge for recent US air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq. | The militants said it was in revenge for recent US air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq. |
| The video has not been independently verified, but the White House said if it was genuine, the US would be "appalled by the brutal murder". | The video has not been independently verified, but the White House said if it was genuine, the US would be "appalled by the brutal murder". |
| Foley's family wrote on Facebook: "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." | Foley's family wrote on Facebook: "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." |
| Foley has reported extensively across the Middle East, working for America's Global Post and other media outlets including the French news agency AFP. | |
| 'Second prisoner' | 'Second prisoner' |
| In the video titled A Message to America, a man who appears to be James Foley is dressed in orange kneeling in desert-like terrain beside an armed man dressed in black. | |
| The militant, who speaks with a British accent and identifies himself as an IS member, says the journalist's death is the direct result of US bombing of IS targets in Iraq. | |
| The US has recently carried out a number of air strikes against IS militants, who have swept through large swathes of north-western Iraq. | The US has recently carried out a number of air strikes against IS militants, who have swept through large swathes of north-western Iraq. |
| In a statement, the Global Post ask for "prayers for Jim and his family", adding that it was waiting for the video to be verified. | |
| US officials confirmed that they had seen the video. | |
| White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said: "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." | |
| The footage claimed to have been released by the IS also shows another prisoner identified by the militants as an American reporter. | |
| IS supporters have recently threatened to attack American citizens, saying: "We will drown all of you in blood." | |
| The militant group has been accused of massacring hundreds of people in areas under their control in Iraq and also in eastern Syria. | |
| The violence has displaced an estimated 1.2 million people in Iraq. | The violence has displaced an estimated 1.2 million people in Iraq. |
| Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics. | Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics. |