ISIS video shows beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff
September 2, 2014 -- Updated 1924 GMT (0324 HKT)
Source: CNN
The video also threatens the life of British captive David Haines.
Sotloff speaks to the
camera before he is killed, saying he is "paying the price" for U.S.
intervention. Considering he was a captive, it's possible that his words
were scripted for him.
The masked ISIS figure in
the video speaks to U.S. President Barack Obama, telling him, "Just as
your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to
strike the necks of your people."
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The Islamic State in Iraq
and Syria has thrived and mutated during the civil war in Syria and in
the security vacuum that followed the departure of the last American
forces from Iraq. The aim of ISIS is to create an Islamic state across
Sunni areas of Iraq and in Syria. The group has taken up large swaths of
land in Iraq and has said it wants to go into Baghdad.
The intelligence community in the United States is working to confirm the authenticity of the video appearing to show Sotloff.
"If genuine, we are
appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we
express our deepest condolences to his family and friends," said
Bernadette Meehan, National Security Council deputy spokeswoman.
British Prime Minister
David Cameron, responding to a reporter's question about the video,
said, "I've just seen the news. It's an absolutely disgusting and
despicable act and I will be making a statement later."
Sotloff's family knows about the video and "is grieving privately," said their spokesman Barak Barfi.
.
Beheading intended to energize followers
Last week, Sotloff's mother, Shirley Sotloff, released a video pleading with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi not to kill her son.
"Steven is a journalist
who traveled to the Middle East to cover the suffering of Muslims at the
hands of tyrants. Steven is a loyal and generous son, brother and
grandson," she said. "He is an honorable man and has always tried to
help the weak."
Steven Sotloff appeared
last month in an ISIS video showing the decapitation of another American
journalist, James Foley. The militant in the video warned that
Sotloff's fate depended on what Obama did next in Iraq.
Sotloff disappeared
while reporting from Syria in August 2013, but his family kept the news
secret, fearing harm to him if they went public. Out of public view, the
family and government agencies had been trying to gain his release for
the past year.
 |
| Photos: Americans detained abroad |
Speaking on CNN moments
after word of video showing Sotloff's apparent murder, CNN terrorism
analyst Paul Cruickshank said that the method of killing -- beheading --
has a specific purpose for ISIS.
A video like the one
showing Sotloff's killing "really energizes" supporters of ISIS, and
beheading is employed for "maximum propaganda" to "terrify" ISIS'
enemies, Cruickshank said.
 |
| Steven Sotloff, far left, speaks with rebels in Misrata, Libya, in June 2011. |
Who was Sotloff?
Sotloff, 31, grew up in
South Florida with his mother, father and younger sister. He majored in
journalism at the University of Central Florida. His personal Facebook
page lists musicians including the Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Miles
Davis and movies including "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Big Lebowski"
as favorites. On his Twitter page, he playfully identifies himself as a
"stand-up philosopher from Miami."
In 2004, he left UCF and moved back to the Miami area.
He graduated from
another college, began taking Arabic classes and subsequently picked up
freelance writing work for a number of publications, including Time,
Foreign Policy, World Affairs and The Christian Science Monitor. His
travels took him to Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey -- among other
countries -- and eventually Syria.
Response from the White House
CNN's Christiane
Amanpour said that Sotloff's killing will step up pressure on Obama to
devise a strategy to combat ISIS. Several other experts agreed with
Amanpour.
On Friday, Obama said it
was too soon to discuss what steps the U.S. would take against the
militant group inside Syria. On how to deal with the group in Syria --
where it was born and has a haven, mostly in the city of Raqqa -- the
President said: "We don't have a strategy yet."
Obama said Friday that he had asked America's top defense officials to prepare "a range of options."
On Tuesday, White House spokesman John Earnest spoke to reporters just after word came about Sotloff's killing.
"This is something that
the administration has obviously been watching very carefully since this
threat against Mr. Sotloff's life was originally made a few weeks ago,"
Earnest said. "Our thoughts and prayers first and foremost are with Mr.
Sotloff and Mr. Sotloff's family and those who worked with him."
CNN's Samira Said and Tim Lister contributed to this report.
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