IS claims to behead second US reporter

Published September 2, 2014
US journalist Steven Sotloff is pictured in this undated handout photo. -Reuters
US journalist Steven Sotloff is pictured in this undated handout photo. -Reuters

WASHINGTON: The Islamic State released a video on Tuesday showing a masked militant beheading another American journalist and threatening to kill a British captive.

The footage, identified by private terrorism monitor SITE and seen by AFP, shows 31-year-old freelance writer Steven Sotloff dressed in orange and on his knees in a desert landscape.

The masked militant condemns US attacks on the Islamic State and cuts Sotloff's throat. He then introduces a second captive, identified by name and said to be British.

“I'm back, Obama, and I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State,” the militant says, in apparent reference to a previous video in which US journalist James Foley was murdered.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he had not been aware of the report before taking the podium at his daily briefing, but added that the administration's “thoughts and prayers” were with Sotloff's family.

Opinion

Editorial

Strange claim
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Strange claim

In all likelihood, Pakistan and US will continue to be ‘frenemies'.
Media strangulation
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Media strangulation

Administration must decide whether it wishes to be remembered as an enabler or an executioner of press freedom.
Israeli rampage
21 Dec, 2024

Israeli rampage

ALONG with the genocide in Gaza, Israel has embarked on a regional rampage, attacking Arab and Muslim states with...
Tax amendments
Updated 20 Dec, 2024

Tax amendments

Bureaucracy gimmicks have not produced results, will not do so in the future.
Cricket breakthrough
20 Dec, 2024

Cricket breakthrough

IT had been made clear to Pakistan that a Champions Trophy without India was not even a distant possibility, even if...
Troubled waters
20 Dec, 2024

Troubled waters

LURCHING from one crisis to the next, the Pakistani state has been consistent in failing its vulnerable citizens....