The White House and the family of the US aid worker Peter Kassig, who was apparently killed by Islamic State (Isis) militants in Syria, today said they were awaiting confirmation of his death.
Ed and Paula Kassig released a statement in which they said they were aware of reports regarding the death of their "treasured son", but were awaiting government authentication. The statement also requested that their family's privacy be respected.
In a statement, the US National Security Council spokeswoman, Bernadette Meehan, said: “We are aware of a video that claims to show the murder of US citizen Peter Kassig by [Isis]. 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. We will provide more information when it is available.”
Dick Durbin, the second-most senior Democrat in the Senate, called Syria “a charnel house” as he told CNN: “This video, if verified, is a tragic reminder of the savagery of Isis and the complexity of our challenge.”
Mr Kassig, a former soldier who returned to the Middle East and founded a humanitarian group to work in dangerous areas of the region, was captured in October 2013. He converted to Islam in captivity, changing his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig.
This morning, a 15-minute video was released by al-Furqan Media, which is controlled by Isis. It showed a man standing over what appeared to be Mr Kassig’s severed head.
The man in the video spoke with the same southern British accent as the killer of previous hostages, dubbed “Jihadi John” by British media. He was believed to have been wounded in an air attack on a meeting of IS leaders in an Iraqi town close to the Syrian border earlier this month, some media reports have said.
“To Obama, the dog of Rome, today we are slaughtering the soldiers of Bashar and tomorrow we will be slaughtering your soldiers,” a masked militant says, predicting Washington would send more troops to the region to fight Islamic State.
“And with Allah’s permission ... the Islamic State will soon ... begin to slaughter your people in your streets.”
The video also contained footage of what appeared to be the beheading of several captured Syrian soldiers.
In their statement, Ed and Paula Kassig asked media outlets not to publish the video or stills taken from it: “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.
“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.”
US authorities are believed to have identified the British-accented Isis fighter, but their findings have not been made public.
Should it be confirmed, Mr Kassig’s murder is the fifth such to be carried out by Isis. The other hostages to be killed were James Foley, an American freelance journalist; Steven Sotloff, an American reporter; David Haines, a British aid worker; and Alan Henning, another British aid worker.
A British journalist, John Cantlie, is believed to be being held by Isis.
Agencies