British Foreign Secretary: The man who beheaded the American journalist appears to be British

According to AFP, on August 20, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond expressed "extreme horror" at the beheading of American journalist James Foley by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), calling it an "extremely cruel" act.

According to Foreign Secretary Hammond, in the video showing the beheading of this American journalist, the masked executioner appeared to be British as he spoke with a British accent.

US reporter James Foley (left) on the highway between the airport and the western gateway of Sirte city, Libya on September 29, 2011. (Source: AFP/TTXVN)

Mr Hammond said: "We will need to do further analysis to establish this. There are large numbers of British nationals in Syria, and increasingly in Iraq. These people pose a direct threat to national security if they attempt to return to the UK with what they have learned from these terrorist organisations."

On the same day, French President Francois Hollande said that next September he will arrange an international conference on the threat posed by Islamic extremists in Iraq, describing the current international situation as "the most serious since 2001"./.

According to VNA