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Alan Henning 'killed by Islamic State' | Alan Henning 'killed by Islamic State' |
(35 minutes later) | |
A video purporting to show the beheading of British hostage Alan Henning has been released by Islamic State militants. | A video purporting to show the beheading of British hostage Alan Henning has been released by Islamic State militants. |
The Salford taxi driver was delivering aid to Syria in December when he was kidnapped then held hostage by IS. | The Salford taxi driver was delivering aid to Syria in December when he was kidnapped then held hostage by IS. |
IS had threatened to kill the 47-year-old in a video showing the killing of Briton David Haines last month. | |
The UK Foreign Office said it was trying to verify the video, and if true it was a "further disgusting murder". | |
On Tuesday, Mr Henning's wife Barbara appealed for his release, saying: "He is innocent." | On Tuesday, Mr Henning's wife Barbara appealed for his release, saying: "He is innocent." |
IS has previously released videos showing the apparent beheadings of two US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker Mr Haines. | |
The video released on Friday is yet to be verified, but it appears to show Mr Henning kneeling beside a militant, dressed in black, in a desert setting. | |
The footage ends with an IS fighter threatening a man they identify as an American. | |
'Plea for mercy' | |
The UK Foreign Office said in a statement: "We are aware of the video and are working urgently to verify the contents. | |
"If true, this is a further disgusting murder. | |
"We are offering the family every support possible; they ask to be left alone at this time." | |
Analysis | |
Frank Gardner, security correspondent, BBC News | |
This latest murder video from the jihadists who call themselves Islamic State is likely to dismay and disgust even many of those who disapprove of western military action against IS. | |
While countless Muslims have already condemned the extreme and graphic violence of IS, the case of Alan Henning struck a special chord with his many Muslim friends. | |
He had given up Christmas with his family to deliver aid to Syrians in need, only to end up in the hands of his eventual murderers. | |
Even individuals who the UK government suspected of extremist leanings had pleaded for his release. | |
The fact that their pleas fell on deaf ears may now possibly convince others sympathetic to IS that their actions are beyond the pale. | |
Earlier this week Mrs Henning had asked for "mercy" for her husband, saying his family was continuing their attempts to communicate with the group. | |
She also she had received an audio message of her husband pleading for his life. | |
"Muslims across the globe continue to question Islamic State over Alan's fate," she said. | |
Mrs Henning had said some people thought her husband was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she said: "He was in the right place doing the right thing." | |
She said her family was "at a loss" as to why IS leaders could not "open their hearts and minds to the truth about Alan's humanitarian motives for going to Syria". | |
Last month, two high-profile imams in the UK made a direct appeal to IS to release Mr Henning. | |
Holding him captive is "totally haram [forbidden]" under Islamic law, the clerics said. | |
Earlier on Friday, the father of another hostage, British journalist John Cantlie, appealed for him to be released "to those he loves and who love him". | |
The journalist, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, has so far appeared in three videos in which he has delivered scripted messages responding to military attacks on IS. | |
UK air strikes | |
RAF Tornados first hit IS targets on Tuesday, four days after Parliament authorised UK involvement in the military campaign. | |
The aircraft have been conducting daily flights over Iraq, and carrying out air strikes against vehicles and weapons positions to assist Kurdish ground forces. | |
The UK is among the nations that have joined forces to tackle the militant group, which has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria. | |
IS has declared a so-called caliphate in the areas it has taken, and is also holding a number of hostages. |