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| Murdered and beheaded British Aid worker David Haines and his wife. |
The dreadful ISIS have released a video of British Aid worker David Haines being beheaded by the Islamic State jihadi group.David Haines was an aid worker who was
captured just days after he arrived in Syria last year.
British government officials were seeking to authenticate the video which purported to show the final moments of Haines, who was 44.
In the video, entitled A Message to the Allies of America, a masked man is shown carrying out the beheading of Haines, whose life had earlier been threatened in a film showing the murder of American journalist Steven Sotloff. The video, which runs to two minutes and 28 seconds, ends with a warning that a second British hostage would be the next to die.
Haines is the third western hostage and the first Briton to be killed in this fashion by the Islamic State (Isis) – the first, US journalist james Foley, was murdered and beheaded in a video released on 19 August.
The British prime minister, David Cameron, issued statement denouncing the killing. “This is a despicable and appalling murder of an innocent aid worker. It is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to the family of David Haines who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude throughout this ordeal.
“We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes.”
The US president, Barack Obama, also condemned the killing. “The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of UK citizen David Haines by the terrorist group Isil,” he said, using his administration’s preferred acronym for Isis. “Our hearts go out to the family of Mr Haines and to the people of the United Kingdom.
“The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve. We will work with the UK and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world.”
The recording features a voiceover delivered by an Isis militant, whose voice and accent closely resembles that of the killer in both the Sotloff and Foley videos. The killer directly addresses Cameron, saying that Haines “has to pay the price for your promise” to arm Kurdish peshmerga fighters against Isis.
Speaking to the camera in the video of him being beheaded, the hostage David Haines, composed but clearly under duress, and wearing an orange jumpsuit, reads out a statement in which he says that Cameron is “entirely responsible for my execution” for entering into a coalition with America.
Haines, who was in the Royal Air Force for 12 years before moving into aid work, addresses Cameron, saying: “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 will in the end pay the price for our Parliament’s selfish decisions.”
The killer, swathed in black, then makes a statement in which he makes a direct reference to the British government’s aid to Kurdish fighters.
He says: “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 same Royal 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.”
At the end of the latest video, another hostage – apparently British – is paraded.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office in London said: “We are aware of the video and are working urgently to verify the contents.”
The family statement, which was released by the Foreign Office and addressed the militants directly, said: “We are the family of David Haines. We have sent messages to you to which we have not received a reply. We are asking those holding David to make contact with us.”
David Haines was born in East Yorkshire but raised in Perthshire, and before his capture was living in Croatia with his second wife Dragana.
He had a 17-year-old daughter with his first wife Louise, and a four-year-old daughter with Dragana, who has described him as a “fantastic man and father”. He was kidnapped while working for the aid organisation Acted in Syria, having previously worked in Libya and South Sudan.
The British government have ceased from naming the latest victim kidnapped and threatened with execution by the ISIS in the David Haines beheading video.
story source The Guardian
Queen of the Naija Blog
story source The Guardian
Queen of the Naija Blog