IS claims to have executed American hostage Peter Kassig

(Baonghean.vn) - On Sunday, November 16, in a video posted on the website of the jihadists, the IS organization announced that it had executed American hostage Peter Kassig. Peter Kassig is known to be an aid worker who was kidnapped in Syria in October 2013.

On Sunday, in the video, an unnamed man dressed in black pointed to a head at his feet and claimed it was Peter Kassig’s. However, the authenticity of the video has not been verified. This execution is unlike the four previous executions of Western hostages by IS. The video does not show the beheading of Peter Kassig, nor does it show the victim reading a final message.

Peter Kassig worked on the Syrian border from late 2012 until the fall of 2013. This photo was provided by Kassig's family on October 4. Photo: AFP/Handout

Peter Kassig's family said he was kidnapped on October 1 while delivering medical supplies in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor. No one had seen Peter Kassig until he appeared at the end of a video showing the execution of British hostage Alan Henning on October 3. The jihadists had threatened to kill Peter Kassig in retaliation for US airstrikes on Iraq and Syria.

Peter Kassig, 26, is from Indianapolis, Indiana. According to military records, Peter Kassig enlisted in 2004. Between April and July, Kassig briefly served in Iraq but was medically discharged. After his discharge, Kassig attended Butler University in Indianapolis.

In 2012, Kassig went to Lebanon to work as an aid worker helping Syrian refugees and then to Gaziantep, a Turkish province near the Syrian border. There, Kassig founded a small NGO called Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA). The organization provides medicine, food, and clothing to refugees. According to Peter Kassig’s family, after being kidnapped in Syria, Kassig converted to Islam and took the name Abdul-Rahman.

In response to the news of the murder of Peter Kassig, British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “horrified by this cold-blooded murder. Once again, the IS organization has shown the world its evil.” At the same time, the British Prime Minister also sent condolences to the victim’s family. French President Francois Hollande also condemned the execution and considered it “a crime against humanity.”

Chu Thanh– according to LeMonde 11/16