GAZIANTEP,
Turkey — Islamic State militants released a chilling videotape on
Sunday showing they had beheaded a fifth Western hostage, an American
aid worker the group had threatened to kill in retaliation for
airstrikes carried out by the United States in Iraq and Syria.
President
Obama on Sunday confirmed the death of the aid worker, Peter Kassig, a
former Army Ranger who disappeared more than a year ago at a checkpoint
in northeastern Syria while delivering medical supplies.Mr. Kassig “was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group,” Mr. Obama said in a statement from aboard Air Force One that was read to the news media in Washington.
In
recent days, American intelligence agencies received strong indications
that the Islamic State had killed Mr. Kassig, the group’s third
American victim. The president’s announcement was the first official
confirmation of his death.“Today we offer our prayers and condolences to the parents and family of
Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known to us as Peter,” Mr. Obama’s statement
said. The president used the Muslim name that Mr. Kassig adopted after
his capture, making the point that the Islamic State had killed a fellow
Muslim. He acknowledged the “anguish at this painful time” felt by Mr.
Kassig’s family.
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