September 14, 2014: The Islamic State has released a video of the third beheading of a foreign hostage, David Cawthorne Haines, a British aid worker. The execution was a clear message to Britain, a vital ally of the US as it builds an international coalition to target the militant group, which has made stunning advances across Syria and northern Iraq in recent months.
The video shows the aid worker kneeling on a bare hill under the open sky, in a landscape that appears identical to where two American journalists were killed by the group in back-to-back executions in the past month.
In the moments before his death, the 44-year-old Haines is forced to read a script, in which he blames his country’s leaders for his killing.
“I would like to declare that I hold you, David Cameron, entirely responsible for my execution,” he said. “You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State.” He added: “Unfortunately, it is we the British public that in the end will pay the price for our parliament’s selfish decisions.”
The video ends with the black-clad executioner, who was speaking in English with what sounded like a British accent, identifying the next victim as Alan Henning, another British citizen. SITE Intelligence, which tracks extremist groups, said the executioner appeared to be the same man who killed the American hostages.
But Britain, which has in the past often been the first country to join US military action overseas, resisted pressure to join the US in announcing air strikes against the Islamic State.
War-weary public opinion, the British parliament’s rejection last year of air strikes on Syria, and sensitivities surrounding Scotland’s independence referendum on Thursday mean Cameron is reticent this time round.
Speaking after chairing a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee in London, Cameron said his government was battling the IS on numerous fronts but was not, for now, launching air strikes.
“Step by step, we must drive back, dismantle, and ultimately destroy ISIL (IS) and what it stands for. We will do so in a calm, deliberate way, but with an iron determination,” Cameron said in a TV statement from his office.
Earlier, Cameron had tweeted: “The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude. We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes.”
President Barack Obama said the US strongly condemned “the barbaric murder” of Haines. “We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice,” he said.
Britain and the US are among the only nations in the world that have held to a hard-line, no-concessions policy when dealing with kidnappings by terrorist groups.
Obama last week announced a major expansion of the military campaign against the IS, including air strikes against the group in Syria. The beheadings of the two Americans, James Foley and Steven J. Sotloff, followed the start of a campaign of air strikes against IS positions in Iraq.
The group is currently holding Henning and another British citizen, as well as two other American aid workers. Their families have asked the news media not to disclose their names, after the IS warned that the hostages would die if relatives made their identities public.
Until earlier this year, the IS was holding close to two dozen foreigners in the same jail where Haines was imprisoned, near the Syrian town of Raqqa. His European cell mates were released against ransom, according to one of the hostages held alongside him who was freed after his government paid a ransom.
Haines, who had a military background, was kidnapped 19 months ago in northern Syria and was held alongside an Italian co-worker, Federico Motka.
Both men worked for Acted, a French aid group, and had travelled to Syria during the country’s horrific civil war. Their fates diverged based on their countries’ policies: Motka was released in May, one of 15 Europeans released from the same IS-run jail for a ransom.
Earlier this month, Cameron had ruled out paying a ransom for Haines. “It’s a desperately difficult situation,” he told Sky News. “We don’t pay ransoms to terrorists when they kidnap our citizens.”
Source: The Telegraph
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