A new video has emerged apparently showing the beheading of a Western hostage by militants fighting for the so-called Islamic State.
Peter Kassig, 26, an aid worker and former U.S. soldier, was originally paraded at the end of a video released in October showing the murder of Briton Alan Henning.
A severed head said to Mr Kassig's was shown at the end of a near 16-minute long propaganda video which also showed the graphic mass murder of dozens of Syrian soldiers and airmen.
'Murdered': Peter Kassig in front of a truck somewhere along the Syrian border between late 2012 and autumn 2013 as Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA) was delivering supplies to refugees
It shows the men led to a place in the desert by uniformed jihadis who each pick up a knife before using them to saw off the heads of their victims. The militants warn that U.S. soldiers will meet a similar fate.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was 'horrified by the cold blooded murder' of US hostage Peter Kassig, and claimed that Islamic State militants 'have again shown their depravity'.
The White House says U.S. intelligence agencies are trying to determine the authenticity whether the video is real.
National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan says that if the video is authentic, the White House would be 'appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American.'
She says the White House expresses its deepest condolences to Mr Kassig's family and friends.
Mr Kassig's family, in the U.S. state of Indiana, said they were awaiting confirmation of the reports about their 'treasured son' and had nothing more to say at this time.
Mr Kassig was captured in Syria in October last year while providing medical training and humanitarian aid to victims of the country's conflict. He had converted to Islam during his captivity and taken the name Abdul-Rahman.
Previous beheading videos showed a desert landscape but in this latest release appears to be in front of a town with fields in the distance.
Mr Kassig's apparent murder is not shown. At the end of the video, which intersperses various executions with file footage of U.S. forces in Iraq and later clips of Islamic State battles, a bloodied, decapitated head is shown at the feet of a militant wearing khaki boots.
Above him stands a masked militant who may be Jihadi John, the man believed be from Britain who wielded the knife in four previous murders of Western hostages.
His voice sounds similar to the voice of the masked militant who has featured in previous videos. He has what sounds like a London accent despite his voice being distorted to make it more difficult to identify him.
A dateline on the video says it has been shot in Dabiq, which is the location where Islamic State militants believe a decisive final battle will be fought with Western forces.
Boasts: A severed head said to be that of Mr Kassig is shown on the ground in this location, said to be Dabiq, which is where Islamic State militants believe a final decisive battle will be fought with Western forces
Last seen: Mr Kassig paraded at the end of the video which showed the killing of aid worker Alan Henning
He says: 'This is Peter Edward Kassig, a U.S. citizen of your country. Peter, who fought against the Muslims in Iraq while serving as a soldier under the American army, doesn't have much to say. His previous cell mates have already spoken on his behalf.
'But we say to you Obama ... you claim to have withdrawn from Iraq four years ago. We said to you then that you are liars, that you have not withdrawn and that if you had withdrawn that you would return, even if after some time.
'You would return. Here you are. You have not withdrawn. Rather, you hid some of your forces behind your proxies and withdrawn the rest. Your forces will return, greater in number than they were before.
'You will return and your proxies will not benefit you.
'And we also remind you of the haunting words that our Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi told you. The spark has been lit here in Iraq and its heat will continue to intensify by Allah's permission until it burns the crusader army in Dabiq.
'And here we are, burying the first crusader in Dabiq. Eagerly awaiting for the remainder of your armies to arrive.'
The video also shows Jihadi John leading the mass execution of Syrian military personnel by jihadis at a desert location. Unlike the apparent murders of Western hostages, in which the camera cuts away at the moment their throats are cut, these killings are shown in full.
Unsettling: The video also shows the mass murder of Syrian military personnel by beheading led by Jihadi John at a desert location. Unlike the murder of Western hostages, the killing of the Syrians is shown in full
Bloodthirsty: The video shows in full graphic detail how the militants saw the heads off their victims
Mr Kassig's parents broke their silence over his captivity last month because 'the dynamics' had changed and they feared for his life.
Their son had formed the aid organisation Special Emergency Response and Assistance, or SERA, in Turkey to provide aid and assistance to Syrian refugees.
He began delivering food and medical supplies to Syrian refugee camps in 2012 and was also a trained medical assistant who provided trauma care to injured Syrian civilians and helped train 150 civilians in providing medical aid.
Paula and Ed Kassig said they had been doing all they could to free their son but were silent about his plight for a year at the instructions of the IS militants. Mr Kassig told U.S. show CBS This Morning: 'They demand. They simply demand.'
His wife added: 'We have sent them back messages that we cannot do what you ask. We have tried. But we don't have the power to do it.'
Their son was born Peter but changed his name to Abdul-Rahman following his conversion to Islam while in captivity.
Aid: Mr Kassig in front of a truck somewhere along the Syrian border between late 2012 and autumn 2013
'They demand. They simply demand': Paula and Ed Kassig said they had been doing all they could to free their 26-year-old son but were silent about his plight for a year at the instructions of the IS militants
Paula Kassig told NBC's Today show that the couple received an audio recording of their son in which he said he thought his time was running out.
The couple also released excerpts from a letter written by Peter in which he feared 'it may very well be coming down to the wire here'.
The latest video is the fourth time this year that IS has published footage showing the murder of Western hostages.
The beheading of American journalist James Foley was released online in August, while videos of the killings of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning were posted in September and October, respectively.
A British Muslim leader condemned the latest killing. Shaukat Warraich, editor of Imamsonline.com, said: 'The murder of Abdul-Rahman Kassig is an affront to Islam. The murderous criminals are a stain on humanity and their wicked ways must be stopped.
'To take the life of another, one whose life has been dedicated to providing aid to our brothers and sisters suffering in Syria, Iraq and the surrounding regions further highlights the inhumane, revolting and unIslamic terrorists for what they really are.'
Former prime minister Sir John Major described the murder as '13th-century barbarism'.
He told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show: 'The people they are murdering, which makes it doubly worse, triply worse, are people who actually went there to help those in difficulty and in need.
'They are being murdered in the most brutal ways, almost beyond belief.'
On whether Britain is in a position to do something about the situation, Sir John added: 'I don't think we can do all that much about it alone, but can we contribute to helping other people to do something about it - I think the answer is undoubtedly yes.
'Though unless we want the old argument that the crusaders have come in to attack, we really need to support other Arabs on the ground and use our power in other ways to help them - surveillance, training, provide weapons and so forth - I think that is a proper role for us.'
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said: 'If this video is authenticated, all of us in the UK will feel revulsion at this latest sickening murder. It only emphasises the scale of the threat posed by Isil and the importance of the international community working together to confront that threat.'
The militant Islamic State group has beheaded and shot dead hundreds of captives - mainly Syrian and Iraqi soldiers - during its sweep across the two countries, and has celebrated mass killings in a series of slickly produced but extremely graphic videos.
The group has declared an Islamic caliphate in the areas under its control in Syria and Iraq, which it governs according to a harsh version of Shariah law.
The U.S. began launching air strikes in Iraq and Syria earlier this year in a bid to halt the group's rapid advance and eventually degrade and destroy it.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2836392/Islamic-State-releases-new-video-claiming-execution-kidnapped-aid-worker.html#ixzz3JEgJbXnj
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