Monday 17 November 2014
Jihadi John Leads Systematic Beheading of Peter Kassig and 18 Syrian Pilots
Up to 18 prisoners are beheaded in one of the most graphic videos from Islamic State
By Thomas Wyke
Isis's new video has featured Jihadi John leading two different beheadings for the first time.
As well as being shown standing over the severed head of American aid worker Abdul Rahman Kassig, the British Islamic State fighter also appears in a graphic mass beheading earlier in the video.
Jihadi John – the nickname of an unnamed British Islamic State militant – is shown alongside 18 other Islamic State militants, leading the systematic beheadings of up to 18 prisoners.
The video, released by al-Furqan Media Foundation, the Islamic State's media and propaganda organisation, states the victims are officers and pilots from the Syrian Arab Army of President Assad. The executed men are wearing matching blue uniforms and shown being led in a line, each prisoner being dragged by an Islamic State fighter.
None of the executors, apart from Jihadi John, are masked and all appear to be wearing khaki desert fatigues. Each fighter drags their victim in a line before collecting a matching black hunting knife from a wooden box.
The victims are walked by their executors in a line through the arid terrain and are forced to bend down on the ground in front of their executors.
Jihadi John is shown standing in the middle of the line, with his own victim kneeling before him. It is the first time he has featured beheading prisoners from the Assad army, rather than journalists and aid workers from America and Great Britain.
Jihadi John declares: "To Obama, the dog of war. Today we are slaughtering the soldiers of Bashar and tomorrow we will slaughter your soldiers.
"With Allah's permission, we will break this final and last crusade and the Islamic State will soon, as your puppet David Cameron said, begin to slaughter your people on your streets."
His voice appears to have been distorted deliberately in an attempt to hide his identity.
Slow-motion camera work is used to show close-ups of the terrified victims. Jihadi John gives a single word order in Arabic and all of the Islamic State fighters crouch down. They force their victims to the lie flat on the ground, pulling up their victims' heads to expose their necks.
The camera focuses on Jihadi John, as he and all the other militants begin to cut off the heads of the Syrian Army soldiers in a synchronised mass beheading.
Jihadi John stops to peer up at the camera as his victim is shown dying.
The horrific scene is concluded with very graphic close-up shots of the beheading, before a final shot showing the bodies lying in a line with the victims' severed heads lying on top of the bodies.
The executioner are all shown holding clean knives and each is shown in a close-up shot. Their identities are not currently confirmed, but they appear to be nationals from around the world. One of the executioners in the video is believed to be a French fighter, known by the nom de guerre Abu Abdullah al-Firansi.
The beheading of the Syrian pilots is concluded with a voiceover statement from Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who boastfully says: "Know that we have armies in Iraq and an army in Sham (Syria) of hungry lions whose drink is blood and play is carnage."
The location of the video is currently unconfirmed, but it is alleged that the mass beheadings were carried out in Dabiq, a small town in the countryside in Syria's Aleppo province.
Dabiq is deeply symbolic to Islamic State as they have previously referred to it being the place for "the Final Hour" – the location where Armageddon will begin – according to the deeds of the Prophet, the Hadith.
A US official has confirmed that the video is authentic. The Kassig family have asked for privacy to mourn for the loss of their son, Abdul Rahman.
Isis's new video has featured Jihadi John leading two different beheadings for the first time.
As well as being shown standing over the severed head of American aid worker Abdul Rahman Kassig, the British Islamic State fighter also appears in a graphic mass beheading earlier in the video.
Jihadi John – the nickname of an unnamed British Islamic State militant – is shown alongside 18 other Islamic State militants, leading the systematic beheadings of up to 18 prisoners.
The video, released by al-Furqan Media Foundation, the Islamic State's media and propaganda organisation, states the victims are officers and pilots from the Syrian Arab Army of President Assad. The executed men are wearing matching blue uniforms and shown being led in a line, each prisoner being dragged by an Islamic State fighter.
None of the executors, apart from Jihadi John, are masked and all appear to be wearing khaki desert fatigues. Each fighter drags their victim in a line before collecting a matching black hunting knife from a wooden box.
The victims are walked by their executors in a line through the arid terrain and are forced to bend down on the ground in front of their executors.
Jihadi John is shown standing in the middle of the line, with his own victim kneeling before him. It is the first time he has featured beheading prisoners from the Assad army, rather than journalists and aid workers from America and Great Britain.
"With Allah's permission, we will break this final and last crusade and the Islamic State will soon, as your puppet David Cameron said, begin to slaughter your people on your streets."
His voice appears to have been distorted deliberately in an attempt to hide his identity.
Slow-motion camera work is used to show close-ups of the terrified victims. Jihadi John gives a single word order in Arabic and all of the Islamic State fighters crouch down. They force their victims to the lie flat on the ground, pulling up their victims' heads to expose their necks.
The camera focuses on Jihadi John, as he and all the other militants begin to cut off the heads of the Syrian Army soldiers in a synchronised mass beheading.
Jihadi John stops to peer up at the camera as his victim is shown dying.
The horrific scene is concluded with very graphic close-up shots of the beheading, before a final shot showing the bodies lying in a line with the victims' severed heads lying on top of the bodies.
The executioner are all shown holding clean knives and each is shown in a close-up shot. Their identities are not currently confirmed, but they appear to be nationals from around the world. One of the executioners in the video is believed to be a French fighter, known by the nom de guerre Abu Abdullah al-Firansi.
The beheading of the Syrian pilots is concluded with a voiceover statement from Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who boastfully says: "Know that we have armies in Iraq and an army in Sham (Syria) of hungry lions whose drink is blood and play is carnage."
The location of the video is currently unconfirmed, but it is alleged that the mass beheadings were carried out in Dabiq, a small town in the countryside in Syria's Aleppo province.
Dabiq is deeply symbolic to Islamic State as they have previously referred to it being the place for "the Final Hour" – the location where Armageddon will begin – according to the deeds of the Prophet, the Hadith.
A US official has confirmed that the video is authentic. The Kassig family have asked for privacy to mourn for the loss of their son, Abdul Rahman.
Provide clear remedy in civil law when spouse converts to Islam, says DAP
The DAP wants amendments made to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act to stop unilateral conversion of minors by a spouse who has embraced Islam.Its national vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran (pic) said a long lasting solution must be found or else cases of such nature would recur.
"Section 51 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act must be clarified to give a proper remedy to the non-converting spouse," the Ipoh Barat MP told a forum on Tamil awakening in Butterworth today.
Kulasegaran, a lawyer, is the counsel for kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi, who is embroiled in a custody battle with her ex-husband Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah.
Ridzuan has refused to hand over their youngest daughter, Prasana Diksa, to Indira, despite a 2010 High Court order awarding her custody of their three children.
The Shariah High Court in Ipoh had in 2009 given Ridzuan custody of the three children after he unilaterally converted them to Islam.
However, in July last year, the Ipoh High Court quashed the conversion of the children and ruled that the certificates of conversion were unconstitutional.
On May 30, the court which found Ridzuan guilty of contempt of court for failing to return Prasana to Indira, also granted her a recovery order and warrant of arrest against the ex-husband.
On September 12 the High Court also granted Indira a mandamus order to compel Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to arrest Ridzuan and to locate Prasana.
However, Khalid obtained a stay pending a decision by the Court of Appeal.
Kulasegaran said section 51 stated that the High Court, upon dissolving the marriage, may make provision for a spouse and for the support, care and custody of the children of the marriage, maintenance and division of property.
He said the civil court may also attach any conditions to the dissolution as it thinks fit.
However, he said section 51 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act was unclear when one of the spouses converted to Islam.
A non-Muslim spouse could not go to the Shariah Court as the religious court was exclusive to persons professing the religion of Islam.
"Section 51 should be strengthened as it is the only remedy for a spouse when the other partner in the civil marriage has converted to Islam," he added.
Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who delivered a keynote address at a national conference organised by the Judicial and Legal Service Training Institute last week, said unilateral conversion had resulted a new conflict between civil and Shariah laws.
"The increasing number of cases has also raised allegations of racial discrimination by the courts and authorities," he said.
He said the failure of the converting spouses to resolve the family arrangements prior to conversion, as well as attempts to use the the civil and Shariah courts to their advantage, had jeopardised family and national harmony.
"Consequentially, the integrity of the police and the Attorney General’s Chambers is also called into question due to the issue of enforcement of conflicting court orders," he said.
Gani said that in 2009, amendments were proposed to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act, the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 to ensure that issues like child custody would be determined by the court in which the marriage was registered.
"These amendments, however, remain pending," he said. – November 16, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/provide-clear-remedy-in-civil-law-when-spouse-converts-to-islam-says-dap#sthash.8hOZ4YnK.dpuf
Srikanth beats Lin Dan to win China Open title
Indian duo Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal clinched the singles titles at the China Open today, with Srikanth overcoming superstar Lin Dan in straight games to take the men's crown.The world number 16, who was appearing in only his first World Superseries final, took 46 minutes to defeat China's double Olympic champion and seize a 21-19, 21-17 win.
The 21-year-old was 17-19 down in the first game, before taking the final four points to march to an early lead over the five-time world champion.
Srikanth then finished strongly in the second game, dropping only two of the final nine points as he closed in on a famous victory against the home favourite.
In the women's singles, Olympic bronze medallist Nehwal won her first China Open title as she overcame Japanese teenager Akane Yamaguchi.
Eighteen-year-old Yamaguchi has had a fairytale tournament, knocking out top seed Wang Shixian in the second round before defeating South Korean fifth seed Bae Yeon-Ju in the semis to claim her place in the final.
But Nehwal proved too much for the rising star as the world number five secured a 21-12, 22-20 victory in 42 minutes.
The Indian was sixth seed in Fuzhou and playing her second World Superseries final of the year, after beating Spain's Carolina Marin to take the Australian Open title in June. – AFP, November 16, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sports/article/srikanth-beats-lin-dan-to-win-china-open-title#sthash.hLXFWKtF.dpuf
Don’t anger Muslims, Perkasa warns MCA
Responding to MCA’s religious harmony bureau chief Ti Lian Ker, Perkasa Youth said MCA has "no right" to dispute anything on syariah law.
"Don’t try to stoke anger among Muslims and challenge syariah law in this country. Don’t be insulting for the sake of garnering support…
"We will make sure that no individual will take Islam and Malay sensitivities lightly. Remember that!
"The
sultan is the head of Islam, and this too is stated in the federal
constitution. Don’t challenge that!" Perkasa Youth chief Irwan Fahmi
Idris said in a statement.He also accused Ti (left) of making such statements to "seek sympathy" after MCA failed to get votes from the Chinese community.
Ti yesterday raised concern over the the government’s proposal to form a Federal Syariah Court, which is higher than the civil Court of Appeal.
He said that this contravenes Articles 4(1) and 74(3) of the federal constitution, with the former stating that the constitution is the highest law of the land.
He said that this could lead to problems, for example in custody disputes when one of parents converts to Islam.
Ti said it is wrong to see "God’s law" as greater than secular law as human beings cannot act for God.
'I am bapuk and mak nyah, so what?'
And when tongues wag, what exactly plays in the hearts and in the minds of these transgender individuals, the ones referred to as bapuk (transvestite), mak nyah (drag queen) or pondan (effeminate men) in society?
Muhammad Izat Hasmi, a transgender from the small town of Batang Kali, Selangor is the first to admit that it has never been easy.
Facing a gender crisis ever since she was a child, Izat chose to dress as a woman when she turned 18.
When
met, the 25-year-old was dressed in a red tank top and black jacket,
with immaculately groomed hair and make up like any other woman.Unlike the general perception that transgender individuals are sex workers, Izat, fondly known as Girl-girl, is trained in the sciences and was employed as a lab assistant at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur.
But pressure at work due to her gender identity eventually forced her to quit her job.
"People would try to advise me, but in a rude way like they were purposely trying to hurt my feelings.
"They told me that pondan won’t enter heaven. Are they God?" she asks, fixing her long hair.
Girl-girl says that the harassment also extends to when she has to face officials to renew her drivers’ licence or identity card.
"When it comes to things where I have to declare my gender, the officials will look at me from head to toe.
"But maybe that’s just because I am different,” she says, a smile always on her lips.
Not criminals
Despite her cheery persona, Girl-girl is not optimistic about her future in Malaysia due to the prevailing laws against transgender individuals.
"I know that people like us we don’t have much of a choice, but I hope the authorities can be bit more relaxed in its enforcement and not just arrest us.
"What exactly have we done? We didn’t commit any crime," she says.
Perhaps, she says, the authorities should try to understand them first.
Although outwardly a woman, Girl-girl, a Muslim, has opted not to undertake a sex change operation, and is unlikely to do so in the future due to her religion.
"I can tell you honestly that I still have a penis. I have only taken hormones (to change my appearance to that of a woman).“I know that our religion does not allow us to make changes to our genitalia as when we die, we should return to Him, as how we were created,” she says.
She says that she has also come to terms with the unkindness that society has shown to her.
"At first I was angry, but what can I do? The fact is, people look down on us.
"But I am bapuk, I am mak nyah. So what?" she says, inviting laughter from her friends.
The Nov 7 the Court of Appeal verdict that a Negri Sembilan syariah enactment banning cross-dressing is unconstitutional is seen as an indirect acknowledgement of the transgender community.
Girl-girl welcomes the decision and believes that the court has finally heard the cries of the transgender.
Pausing for a moment, she smiles.
"This is a new hope for the transgender community."
Melaka zoo animals: The walking dead?
Conservationists are up in arms over the importation of wild animals from South Africa to stock the notorious Melaka zoo.
FMT
PETALING JAYA: Wildlife conservationists from various non-governmental organisations have spoken out vehemently against the decision of the Melaka Zoo to import 24 species of animals from South Africa to restock what it claims is to be an “improved zoo”.
Sean Whyte from Nature Alert who is a long-time campaigner for improved conditions in Malaysia’s zoos added, “Just when we thought Perhilitan could not possibly make any more stupid decisions, they go and approve of wild animals in Africa being caught so they can be transported thousands of miles to be stuffed in a Malaysian zoo of disrepute.
“Perhilitan is incompetent, leaderless and clueless. It would be impossible to exaggerate how badly this government department is managed and it’s a scandal how Minister G. Palanivel (Natural Resources and Environment Ministry) accepts such poor standards from his wildlife department. It’s like the blind leading the blind.”
The zoo, once managed by Perhilitan but now owned by KAJ Development Sdn Bhd is notorious for being evasive about the many dead and missing wildlife in its care apart from the deplorable living conditions of those still living with them.
Jennifer Yeap from Malaysian Friends of the Animals said, “We have been made aware of many animals at the zoo dying due to poor treatment. As part of a cost-cutting programme animals are also being fed less food.”
Yeap also said that based on regular visits to Melaka Zoo, it was obvious there were less animals on display, leading her to wonder if they had been killed or relocated.
She also noted that some of the animals there were suffering from zoochosis, or psychological stress.
She added, “Instead of importing animals from Africa, Malaysia needs to focus on its own wildlife and provide better, more humane conditions for its existing animals.”
Anyone visiting Melaka Zoo today will see for themselves how run down and poorly managed it is with no conservation or educational content including a host of disinterested keepers.
Director of Friends of the Orangutans, Upreshpal Singh said: “We heard two orangutans died at this zoo earlier this year. This came as no surprise to us.
“The orangutan enclosure does not meet the apes’ needs and massive improvements to it are needed. The orangutans don’t appear to receive enrichment and consequently can be seen to be bored and listless.”
Upreshpal also said visitors kept feeding the orangutans junk food as none of the zoo’s staff bothered to monitor this bad habit.
He added, “We are also worried about the health of Mardia the female orangutan who is very obese due to lack of physical activity and this urgently needs to be addressed.
“We are more than happy to help the zoo management if they will allow us to improve the lives of the orangutans at the zoo.”
Melaka Zoo is a member of the Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria. (MAZPA). All attempts to find out from them why so many animal have died or disappeared at this zoo have proven unsuccessful.
“The import of animals from Africa must be cancelled and the lives of the animals now suffering must be urgently improved. As one of the oldest zoos in Malaysia, it brings a lot of embarrassment to the Melaka state,” added Yeap.
All three wildlife NGOs hope conservationists in Africa will band together to protest this exploitation of their natural heritage and stop the export of animals from Africa to Malaysia.
“Sending their animals to Malaysian zoos is most probably sending them to an early death,” Whyte said.
All attempts by FMT to contact either Perhilitan or Melaka Zoo regarding this issue have proved fruitless.
FMT
PETALING JAYA: Wildlife conservationists from various non-governmental organisations have spoken out vehemently against the decision of the Melaka Zoo to import 24 species of animals from South Africa to restock what it claims is to be an “improved zoo”.
Sean Whyte from Nature Alert who is a long-time campaigner for improved conditions in Malaysia’s zoos added, “Just when we thought Perhilitan could not possibly make any more stupid decisions, they go and approve of wild animals in Africa being caught so they can be transported thousands of miles to be stuffed in a Malaysian zoo of disrepute.
“Perhilitan is incompetent, leaderless and clueless. It would be impossible to exaggerate how badly this government department is managed and it’s a scandal how Minister G. Palanivel (Natural Resources and Environment Ministry) accepts such poor standards from his wildlife department. It’s like the blind leading the blind.”
The zoo, once managed by Perhilitan but now owned by KAJ Development Sdn Bhd is notorious for being evasive about the many dead and missing wildlife in its care apart from the deplorable living conditions of those still living with them.
Jennifer Yeap from Malaysian Friends of the Animals said, “We have been made aware of many animals at the zoo dying due to poor treatment. As part of a cost-cutting programme animals are also being fed less food.”
Yeap also said that based on regular visits to Melaka Zoo, it was obvious there were less animals on display, leading her to wonder if they had been killed or relocated.
She also noted that some of the animals there were suffering from zoochosis, or psychological stress.
She added, “Instead of importing animals from Africa, Malaysia needs to focus on its own wildlife and provide better, more humane conditions for its existing animals.”
Anyone visiting Melaka Zoo today will see for themselves how run down and poorly managed it is with no conservation or educational content including a host of disinterested keepers.
Director of Friends of the Orangutans, Upreshpal Singh said: “We heard two orangutans died at this zoo earlier this year. This came as no surprise to us.
“The orangutan enclosure does not meet the apes’ needs and massive improvements to it are needed. The orangutans don’t appear to receive enrichment and consequently can be seen to be bored and listless.”
Upreshpal also said visitors kept feeding the orangutans junk food as none of the zoo’s staff bothered to monitor this bad habit.
He added, “We are also worried about the health of Mardia the female orangutan who is very obese due to lack of physical activity and this urgently needs to be addressed.
“We are more than happy to help the zoo management if they will allow us to improve the lives of the orangutans at the zoo.”
Melaka Zoo is a member of the Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria. (MAZPA). All attempts to find out from them why so many animal have died or disappeared at this zoo have proven unsuccessful.
“The import of animals from Africa must be cancelled and the lives of the animals now suffering must be urgently improved. As one of the oldest zoos in Malaysia, it brings a lot of embarrassment to the Melaka state,” added Yeap.
All three wildlife NGOs hope conservationists in Africa will band together to protest this exploitation of their natural heritage and stop the export of animals from Africa to Malaysia.
“Sending their animals to Malaysian zoos is most probably sending them to an early death,” Whyte said.
All attempts by FMT to contact either Perhilitan or Melaka Zoo regarding this issue have proved fruitless.
Stop BN blame game, Guan Eng told
Penang Umno says the Penang CM should be man enough to accept some blame that PR has failed to rectify the island’s many issues.
FMT
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Umno today said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should stop blaming the previous Barisan Nasional administration whenever controversial issues popped-up pertaining to state governance.
Its chief Zainal Abidin Osman said Lim could not go on hiding behind a “blame game on BN” since Pakatan Rakyat had been governing the state for six years already.
He pointed out that Penangites rejected BN in the past two general elections as punishment of the previous administration’s mistakes.
Saying Penangites had now given PR the mandate to govern the state, it was unprofessional of Lim to continue using BN as a shield to fend off criticisms and escape responsibility and accountability.
He also accused Lim of not being man enough to admit his administration’s own shortcomings.
Zainal, who is also the state BN deputy chairman, pointed out that prior to the 2008 general election, DAP and PKR had heavily criticised the previous BN administration on 12 major issues and rallied the people to change the state government.
However he said that from BN’s observation, the issues “not only remained unresolved but had become worse.”
Among the issues were graft, cronyism, flooding and a host of other issues like housing, hillside development, traffic congestion and high parking rates among others.
At the state party liaison committee meeting that Zainal was charing today, Penang Umno also decided to fully back the state government’s application to the federal government to upgrade Penang Island’s status from current municipality to city.
“A city status for Penang Island would bring more benefits to all,” said Zainal.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Umno today said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should stop blaming the previous Barisan Nasional administration whenever controversial issues popped-up pertaining to state governance.
Its chief Zainal Abidin Osman said Lim could not go on hiding behind a “blame game on BN” since Pakatan Rakyat had been governing the state for six years already.
He pointed out that Penangites rejected BN in the past two general elections as punishment of the previous administration’s mistakes.
Saying Penangites had now given PR the mandate to govern the state, it was unprofessional of Lim to continue using BN as a shield to fend off criticisms and escape responsibility and accountability.
He also accused Lim of not being man enough to admit his administration’s own shortcomings.
Zainal, who is also the state BN deputy chairman, pointed out that prior to the 2008 general election, DAP and PKR had heavily criticised the previous BN administration on 12 major issues and rallied the people to change the state government.
However he said that from BN’s observation, the issues “not only remained unresolved but had become worse.”
Among the issues were graft, cronyism, flooding and a host of other issues like housing, hillside development, traffic congestion and high parking rates among others.
At the state party liaison committee meeting that Zainal was charing today, Penang Umno also decided to fully back the state government’s application to the federal government to upgrade Penang Island’s status from current municipality to city.
“A city status for Penang Island would bring more benefits to all,” said Zainal.
Video claims ISIS militants have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig
By Ben Brumfield, CNN
(CNN)President Barack Obama on Sunday confirmed that Peter Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, was beheaded by ISIS. Kassig "was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity," Obama said in a statement.
Militants claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig in a video published to the Internet on Sunday, purportedly from terror group ISIS.
The video shows the aftermath of a beheading, in which the victim is not clearly recognizable. CNN has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the video nor the identity of the victim.
Kassig, 26, who converted to Islam in captivity, also went by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig.
He went to the Middle East as a U.S. soldier and returned as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war.
He did aid work in Syria, where he was captured. He was held hostage for over a year.
Kassig's parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, acknowledged the reports of their son's death in a statement and said they would wait for government confirmation of their authenticity. They asked for privacy.
Condemnation
The White House issued a statement condemning the purported killing and said intelligence officials were working to determine the video's 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," said National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan.
British Prime Minister David Cameron also condemned ISIS over the purported killing.
"I'm horrified by the cold blooded murder of Abdul-Rahman Kassig. ISIL have again shown their depravity. My thoughts are with his family," Cameron said on Twitter.
ISIL is another term for the group ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which calls itself simply the Islamic State.
The video
A familiar figure appeared in Sunday's video claim, dressed in all black and speaking with what sounds like an English accent.
A man fitting the same description appeared in previous videos of the apparent beheadings of other Westerners.
But this recording is different from previously released ones. It is longer, almost 16 minutes, and does not include a statement by the victim, as previous ones had.
And it is utterly brutal, showing in graphic detail the beheadings of other men, whom militants claim are pilots for the Syrian government.
The narration spends much time on ISIS' history and the figure taunts U.S. President Barack Obama, saying he will have to return troops to Iraq in greater numbers than before.
And for the first time in such a video, the speaker names the place where he is standing with the victim -- in the town of Dabiq in Aleppo province, Syria.
The fifth Westerner
Kassig is the fifth Westerner whom ISIS claims to have beheaded via video messages.
The first was U.S. journalist James Foley. A video of his killing was posted online in mid-August, just over a week after Obama approved "targeted airstrikes" against ISIS.
In early September, ISIS released a video showing the beheading of U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff. Sotloff's apparent killer spoke in what sounded like the same British accent as the man who purportedly killed Foley.
Less than two weeks later, ISIS announced in a video the apparent killing of British aid worker David Haines.
And on October 3, ISIS released a video showing the apparent beheading of hostage Alan Henning.
Plea for mercy
Kassig's life was threatened in that last video.
A week after its release, Kassig's family released a YouTube video of its own, asking his captors to show mercy and free him.
Kassig's mother, Paula, addressed her son in the video. "We are so very proud of you and the work you have done to bring humanitarian aid to the Syrian people," she said.
The couple noted they were releasing the video on the day of Islam's Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, when Muslims slaughter lambs, goats, sheep and cattle and distribute the meat to the poor and their families.
A native of Indiana, Peter Kassig founded Special Emergency Response and Assistance, a nongovernmental organization aiding Syrians fleeing the civil war there.
From 2012, he delivered food and medical supplies within and outside Syria and provided trauma care and training, his family said.
Soldier, helper, captive
Kassig's journey began when he joined the U.S. Army Rangers in 2006 and deployed to Iraq in 2007. He was honorably discharged for medical reasons after a brief tour and returned to the United States to study political science and train for 1,500-meter races. But something wasn't right.
"I was going to school with kids who look the same, were the same age as me, but we weren't the same," he said in an interview with CNN in 2012. "I wanted more of a challenge, a sense of purpose."
In 2010, Kassig took time off and began his certification as an emergency medical technician.
In the two years that followed, he fell in love, got married and quickly divorced. Devastated and heartbroken, he went back to school, but he couldn't shake his depression.
"I needed a game changer," he said.
He eventually traveled to Lebanon, and founded SERA to deliver food and medical supplies to swelling refugee camps.
On October 1, 2013, he was "detained" on his way to Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, his family said.
"Peter really believed that an individual can make a difference in the world through their love and compassion and intelligence," said Margaret Brabant, Kassig's college adviser and a professor at Butler Univeristy. "... That is the message that I think Peter would want me to convey."
(CNN)President Barack Obama on Sunday confirmed that Peter Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, was beheaded by ISIS. Kassig "was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity," Obama said in a statement.
Militants claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig in a video published to the Internet on Sunday, purportedly from terror group ISIS.
The video shows the aftermath of a beheading, in which the victim is not clearly recognizable. CNN has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the video nor the identity of the victim.
Kassig, 26, who converted to Islam in captivity, also went by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig.
He went to the Middle East as a U.S. soldier and returned as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war.
He did aid work in Syria, where he was captured. He was held hostage for over a year.
Kassig's parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, acknowledged the reports of their son's death in a statement and said they would wait for government confirmation of their authenticity. They asked for privacy.
Condemnation
The White House issued a statement condemning the purported killing and said intelligence officials were working to determine the video's 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," said National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan.
British Prime Minister David Cameron also condemned ISIS over the purported killing.
"I'm horrified by the cold blooded murder of Abdul-Rahman Kassig. ISIL have again shown their depravity. My thoughts are with his family," Cameron said on Twitter.
ISIL is another term for the group ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which calls itself simply the Islamic State.
The video
A familiar figure appeared in Sunday's video claim, dressed in all black and speaking with what sounds like an English accent.
A man fitting the same description appeared in previous videos of the apparent beheadings of other Westerners.
But this recording is different from previously released ones. It is longer, almost 16 minutes, and does not include a statement by the victim, as previous ones had.
And it is utterly brutal, showing in graphic detail the beheadings of other men, whom militants claim are pilots for the Syrian government.
The narration spends much time on ISIS' history and the figure taunts U.S. President Barack Obama, saying he will have to return troops to Iraq in greater numbers than before.
And for the first time in such a video, the speaker names the place where he is standing with the victim -- in the town of Dabiq in Aleppo province, Syria.
The fifth Westerner
Kassig is the fifth Westerner whom ISIS claims to have beheaded via video messages.
The first was U.S. journalist James Foley. A video of his killing was posted online in mid-August, just over a week after Obama approved "targeted airstrikes" against ISIS.
In early September, ISIS released a video showing the beheading of U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff. Sotloff's apparent killer spoke in what sounded like the same British accent as the man who purportedly killed Foley.
Less than two weeks later, ISIS announced in a video the apparent killing of British aid worker David Haines.
And on October 3, ISIS released a video showing the apparent beheading of hostage Alan Henning.
Plea for mercy
Kassig's life was threatened in that last video.
A week after its release, Kassig's family released a YouTube video of its own, asking his captors to show mercy and free him.
Kassig's mother, Paula, addressed her son in the video. "We are so very proud of you and the work you have done to bring humanitarian aid to the Syrian people," she said.
The couple noted they were releasing the video on the day of Islam's Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, when Muslims slaughter lambs, goats, sheep and cattle and distribute the meat to the poor and their families.
A native of Indiana, Peter Kassig founded Special Emergency Response and Assistance, a nongovernmental organization aiding Syrians fleeing the civil war there.
From 2012, he delivered food and medical supplies within and outside Syria and provided trauma care and training, his family said.
Soldier, helper, captive
Kassig's journey began when he joined the U.S. Army Rangers in 2006 and deployed to Iraq in 2007. He was honorably discharged for medical reasons after a brief tour and returned to the United States to study political science and train for 1,500-meter races. But something wasn't right.
"I was going to school with kids who look the same, were the same age as me, but we weren't the same," he said in an interview with CNN in 2012. "I wanted more of a challenge, a sense of purpose."
In 2010, Kassig took time off and began his certification as an emergency medical technician.
In the two years that followed, he fell in love, got married and quickly divorced. Devastated and heartbroken, he went back to school, but he couldn't shake his depression.
"I needed a game changer," he said.
He eventually traveled to Lebanon, and founded SERA to deliver food and medical supplies to swelling refugee camps.
On October 1, 2013, he was "detained" on his way to Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, his family said.
"Peter really believed that an individual can make a difference in the world through their love and compassion and intelligence," said Margaret Brabant, Kassig's college adviser and a professor at Butler Univeristy. "... That is the message that I think Peter would want me to convey."
White Widow suffered 'slow and agonising death' after being 'gunned down in Ukraine'
A BRITISH terror suspect known as the 'White Widow' suffered a slow and agonising death after reportedly being shot by a sniper in east Ukraine, it was alleged today.
By: Will Stewart
British authorities are urgently trying to verify the shock claims that Samantha Lewthwaite, 30, was gunned down by pro-Russian rebel forces, as reported by Regnum news agency in Moscow.
One of Britain's most wanted people, the 30-year-old was reported last month as fighting for the so-called Islamic State terror group in Syria.
Lewthwaite was married to 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, 19, a Jamaican-born Yorkshireman, and allegedly left Britain in 2009 before being linked to atrocities in Africa.
The journalist behind the story, Alexey Toporov, a supporter of the separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, today claimed: "It is said that her death was not quick - which was the right way to do it."
His words implied that the jihadist suffered a lingering death after being shot by "a young but already experienced sniper volunteer
from Russia".
The journalist, Regnum News Agency and rebels forces in Ukraine have failed so far to provide any evidence for Lewthwaite's presence in the eastern European country, or of her death.
No pictures have been released of her body, nor any personal papers indicating she was in Ukraine.
Nor is it clear how the rebels knew her identity.
Toporov claimed today on a social media site that Lewthwaite had come to Ukraine under a false name and was deployed as a sniper in the Donetsk region.
"The White Widow ended in a bad way. To be more exact, she ended up killing people," he added.
"This viper, who organised the attack on a shopping centre in Nairobi where people including women and children were shot dead because they could not tell the name of Muhammad's first wife, was using false name and fighting in Donbass.
"She was a sniper in one of the [Ukrainian] punishment battalions, supposedly Aidar. She killed many of our guys.
"At the end, she was shot by a young but already very experienced sniper volunteer from Russia.
"He did not even care for the $5million [£3.2million] promised by Interpol for the head of this viper."
Toporov is a former editor from Kazan, capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, and was previously involved in a street fight with an alleged extremist Tatar figure.
This year he served as press officer for the self-styled Lugansk People's Republic in rebel-held eastern Ukraine.
He quit and went back to Russia, but has now returned to Lugansk as a journalist.
Once seen as a innocent home counties wife, Lewthwaite has since become one of the most notorious fugitives on the planet.
For the last three years British, American and Kenyan security services have been chasing her, with some reports suggesting she may have employed plastic surgery to evade capture.
Born in Northern Ireland and schooled in Aylesbury, she was not previously linked to Ukraine.
British authorities are urgently trying to verify the shock claims that Samantha Lewthwaite, 30, was gunned down by pro-Russian rebel forces, as reported by Regnum news agency in Moscow.
One of Britain's most wanted people, the 30-year-old was reported last month as fighting for the so-called Islamic State terror group in Syria.
Lewthwaite was married to 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, 19, a Jamaican-born Yorkshireman, and allegedly left Britain in 2009 before being linked to atrocities in Africa.
The journalist behind the story, Alexey Toporov, a supporter of the separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, today claimed: "It is said that her death was not quick - which was the right way to do it."
His words implied that the jihadist suffered a lingering death after being shot by "a young but already experienced sniper volunteer
from Russia".
The journalist, Regnum News Agency and rebels forces in Ukraine have failed so far to provide any evidence for Lewthwaite's presence in the eastern European country, or of her death.
No pictures have been released of her body, nor any personal papers indicating she was in Ukraine.
Nor is it clear how the rebels knew her identity.
Toporov claimed today on a social media site that Lewthwaite had come to Ukraine under a false name and was deployed as a sniper in the Donetsk region.
"The White Widow ended in a bad way. To be more exact, she ended up killing people," he added.
"This viper, who organised the attack on a shopping centre in Nairobi where people including women and children were shot dead because they could not tell the name of Muhammad's first wife, was using false name and fighting in Donbass.
"She was a sniper in one of the [Ukrainian] punishment battalions, supposedly Aidar. She killed many of our guys.
"At the end, she was shot by a young but already very experienced sniper volunteer from Russia.
"He did not even care for the $5million [£3.2million] promised by Interpol for the head of this viper."
Toporov is a former editor from Kazan, capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, and was previously involved in a street fight with an alleged extremist Tatar figure.
This year he served as press officer for the self-styled Lugansk People's Republic in rebel-held eastern Ukraine.
He quit and went back to Russia, but has now returned to Lugansk as a journalist.
Once seen as a innocent home counties wife, Lewthwaite has since become one of the most notorious fugitives on the planet.
For the last three years British, American and Kenyan security services have been chasing her, with some reports suggesting she may have employed plastic surgery to evade capture.
Born in Northern Ireland and schooled in Aylesbury, she was not previously linked to Ukraine.
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