The wife of the
British hostage being held captive by ISIS posted a heartbreaking last picture
of her husband and their baby daughter on Facebook with the caption: 'This is my
world'.
The picture of David
Haines was taken in 2011 – two years before he was seized by ISIS.
The devoted
father-of-two, 44, who grew up in Scotland, is an aid worker with 23 years'
experience rebuilding conflict zones and supporting war-hit citizens.
He was captured by
jihadis in March 2013 while working with refugees near the Turkish border of
Syria.
Last night, he was
seen for the first time in 17 months, being held up by Islamic State fighters as
US journalist Steven Sotloff was beheaded.
Revealed: The British hostage being held by ISIS is David
Haines, 44, pictured in 2011 with the youngest of his two daughters. He is now
facing murder at the hands of ISIS, who abducted him in March 2013
David Cameron now
faces a race against time in a bid to recover Mr Haines and stem the Islamic
State's murderous rampage while abiding by the UK policy not to negotiate with
terrorists.
The extremist group
now presides over a mass of land equivalent to the size of the UK, from Aleppo
to central Iraq, and controls at least four million people.
Mr Haines was born in
East Yorkshire and grew up in Perth, Scotland, before embarking on a career in
NGOs.
A father to two
daughters, aged 17 and four, he is understood to have been married twice; once
to a Scottish woman - the mother of his eldest daughter - and later to a
Croatian woman, with whom he had his second child.
He worked for a
German aid group in Croatia, trying to rebuild abandoned villages in a region
traumatised by war.
In 2012, he spent
seven months in South Sudan with a civilian peacekeeping organisation, where a
former colleague found him to be 'a very solid, stand-up guy. The sort of person
you can rely on,' according to The Times.
This came after he
opened a charity in Libya which aims to help disabled and vulnerable people in
situations of poverty, conflict and disaster.
He spent eight months
in the north African country working on the United Nation's demining
programme.
Threat: Mr Haines was hauled in front of the camera after
a British jihadi murdered US journalist Steven Sotloff
By the time he left,
he had secured an estimated $4 million of funding for the project.
In between each spell
working for humanitarian organisations in conflict zones, Mr Haines was employed
by an Italian-Croatian manufacturing company - which he describes on his
LinkedIn page as 'providing equipment, technical expertise throughout former
Yugoslavia.'
It is not clear how
the role led to him working in Syria, but it is understood he accepted a a
short-term contract to work in the north of the country, where he was eventually
captured by Islamist militants.
He was based near the
Atmeh refugee camp in Syria's northern province of Idlib when he was abducted in
March 2013 while working at a refugee camp on the Turkish border of
Syria.
Another man, believed
to be Italian, was also taken hostage but has since been released, according to
aid workers that have been attempting to secure Haines's release.
In the video, he
appears to be being held by an ISIS killer who has already brutally executed
U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in two sickening propaganda
videos
During his time in
captivity, the man was held along with two Syrians and an Italian near the north
Syrian village of Atmeh in March last year, apparently while working in a
security role for the aid company. The three people he was captured with have
all since been released, it is understood.
Pressure: David Cameron and Barack Obama now face a race
against time to recover David Haines and stem the Islamic State's murderous
rampage while digesting the news that two US journalists have already
died
During his year in
captivity, the man has seen a further six fellow hostages freed - another
Italian, one Dane and four French - after their governments paid an estimated
£5million ransom per person.
It remains unclear
whether the British man's captors have tried to negotiate a ransom for his
release.
Today, Foreign
secretary Phillip Hammond said the UK is looking 'at every possible option to
protect' the hostage after a previous U.S-led rescue attempt failed to secure
his release.
Meanwhile, David
Cameron has issued an appeal to European governments to stop paying ransoms for
hostages as he grapples with how to recover Mr Haines without offering
money.
Britain and the US do
not negotiate with terrorists out of principle.
However, over the
last five years ISIS is thought to have earned £75million ransoming more than 50
captives. Kidnapping Europeans has become the main source of revenue for Al
Qaeda and its spin off.
Four French and three
Spanish hostages have been released this year after money was delivered through
an intermediary.
The disturbing threat
to David Haines' life leaves the Prime Minister with the chilling prospect of
one British national murdering another in the name of ISIS' brutal
interpretation of Islam.
At Prime Minister's
questions this afternoon, David Cameron told MPs: 'This country will never give
into terrorism. Our opposition to ISIS will continue at home and
abroad.
'A country like ours
will not be cowed by these barbaric killers. If they think we will weaken in the
face of their threats they could not be more wrong.'
Barack Obama today
described the video as 'barbaric' adding that the U.S. will not be intimidated
by the radical Islamists and vowing to build a coalition to 'degrade and
destroy' the group.
It came just before
the President touched down on Air Force One at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire,
ahead of a Nato meeting in Wales.
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
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