Monday, November 17, 2014

Did ISIS hostage Peter Kassig REFUSE to read jihadist speech in murder video? Speculation over final moments of 'selfless' aid worker as terrorists are left with just one U.S. hostage - a 26-year-old woman

Did ISIS hostage Peter Kassig REFUSE to read jihadist speech in murder video? Speculation over final moments of 'selfless' aid worker as terrorists are left with just one U.S. hostage - a 26-year-old woman

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2837315/Did-ISIS-hostage-Peter-Kassig-REFUSE-read-jihadist-speech-murder-video-Speculation-final-moments-selfless-aid-worker-terrorists-left-just-one-U-S-hostage-26-year-old-woman.html

  • Video showing aid worker Peter Kassig's severed head released Sunday
  • But differed from previous hostage films by not showing moment of death
  • Also did not include a canned speech condemning Western nations
  • Has led to speculation Kassig knew what was coming and refused to comply 
  • White House confirmed ISIS's graphic video was genuine
  • Mr Kassig was captured in Syria in October last year while providing aid
  • Video of his murder also shows execution of dozens of Syrian soldiers 
  • In last letter to parents, received in June, Peter said he was 'scared' to die 
Murdered ISIS hostage Peter Kassig may have refused to read a speech condemning the West prepared by his captors before they killed him, it has been suggested.
Kassig, an aid worker who was captured in Syria, could have known his execution was coming, and denied his captors the satisfaction of repeating their words on camera, an insider suggested.

Speculation about his last moments came after ISIS released a video, verified by the White House as genuine, showing Kassig's decapitated head.
Scroll down for video 
Last seen: It comes a month after Peter - who changed his name to Abdul-Rahman after converting to Islam - was paraded at the end of a graphic video (pictured) showing the murder of British aid worker Alan Henning
Last seen: It comes a month after Peter - who changed his name to Abdul-Rahman after converting to Islam - was paraded at the end of a graphic video (pictured) showing the murder of British aid worker Alan Henning
Murdered: President Barack Obama on Sunday paid tribute to American aid worker Peter Kassig (pictured) as an ISIS video purporting to show a militant standing above his severed head was confirmed as genuine
Murdered: President Barack Obama on Sunday paid tribute to American aid worker Peter Kassig (pictured) as an ISIS video purporting to show a militant standing above his severed head was confirmed as genuine

The video differs starkly from previous ISIS execution films, and does not show any part of the killing itself.

The latest killing means ISIS has killed all of its American hostages bar one - an unnamed, 26-year-old woman.

Little is known about her except that she is an aid worker, was captured in Syria last year, and that ISIS have reportedly demanded $6million for her release.

The figure is low compared to previous demands, which have exceeded $100million. But it is unlikely to make a difference given the government's long-standing refusal to negotiate with terrorists.

The video, which emerged Sunday, has prompted a fresh wave of analysis, potentially implying that Kassig was defiant to the end.

In previous films showing victims including James Foley and David Haines, captives kneeled in the sand and spoke out in favor of the so-called Islamic State before being killed.

The speeches, given under obvious duress, have previously criticized the victim's government - British or American - either on their broader foreign policy, refusals to negotiate with ISIS, specific military action such as air strikes. 
Peter Kassig is pictured while working as an aid worker in Syria before his capture. His murder is not actually shown in the latest film and he does not deliver a final message as other hostages have
Peter Kassig is pictured while working as an aid worker in Syria before his capture. His murder is not actually shown in the latest film and he does not deliver a final message as other hostages have
Distraught: Speaking as he flew back to Washington from Hawaii, Obama said the 26-year-old war veteran was killed 'in an act of pure evil'. Above, Peter's parents gave an emotional statement about their son on Sunday
Distraught: Speaking as he flew back to Washington from Hawaii, Obama said the 26-year-old war veteran was killed 'in an act of pure evil'. Above, Peter's parents gave an emotional statement about their son on Sunday

Kassig's video featured no such segment, despite being longer than previous clips, prompting speculation that the filming was less straightforward than usual. 

A source speaking to the Daily Beast, who has experience of hostage negotiations, said: 'I suspect that Pete knew this was coming and that he refused to talk.'

It was also suggested that Kassig, who converted to Islam around the time of his capture, could have frustrated his captives by insisting on reciting from the Qur'an. 
In the video itself an ISIS figure acknowledges the difference, saying Kassig had 'little to say'.

President Barack Obama on Sunday paid tribute to Kassig while attacking ISIS.

Speaking as he flew back to Washington from Hawaii, he said the 26-year-old veteran was 'taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity'.

He said the Islamic State, which now controls a third of Iraq and Syria, 'revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction.'

And he described Peter as a 'humanitarian who worked to save the lives of Syrians injured and dispossessed', adding: 'We cannot begin to imagine [his family's] anguish at this painful time.' 
Family: Mr and Mrs Kassig are seen with Peter - who changed his name to Abdul-Rahman - in an old photo
Family: Mr and Mrs Kassig are seen with Peter - who changed his name to Abdul-Rahman - in an old photo
Visit: Obama's statement, made as he returned from his trip to the Asia Pacific region, came just minutes after the White House announced that the ISIS video was real. Above, Obama speaks in Brisbane earlier on Sunday
Visit: Obama's statement, made as he returned from his trip to the Asia Pacific region, came just minutes after the White House announced that the ISIS video was real. Above, Obama speaks in Brisbane earlier on Sunday

Obama's statement, made as he returned from his trip to the Asia Pacific region, came just minutes after the White House announced that the 16-minute long ISIS propaganda video was real.

It also followed an emotional statement from Peter's parents about the fate of their 'treasured' son, who was captured by the Islamic State while providing aid in Syria last October.

In the release, Ed and Paula Kassig, from Indianapolis, said they hoped their son would be remembered for his 'important work' and his love for others.
'We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause,' they said.

'The family respectfully asks that the news media avoid playing into the hostage takers’ hands and refrain from publishing or broadcasting photographs or video distributed by the hostage takers.' 

The couple also added that they were waiting for the U.S. government to verify the authenticity of the ISIS video - which has since happened.
Boastful: The White House confirmed Peter's beheading following an intense review of an ISIS video purporting to show a militant (pictured) standing above his severed head
Boastful: The White House confirmed Peter's beheading following an intense review of an ISIS video purporting to show a militant (pictured) standing above his severed head
Bloodthirsty: The video shows in full graphic detail how the militants saw the heads off their victims
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

They are yet to release a statement following the confirmation of their son's death.
The video showing Peter's severed head - which was released by the terror group on Sunday morning - also featured the graphic mass murder of dozens of Syrian soldiers and airmen.

Footage shows the victims being led to a place in the desert by uniformed jihadis who each pick up a knife before sawing off victims' heads. The militants claim U.S. soldiers will meet a similar fate.

THE KASSIG FAMILY'S STATEMENT 

'We are aware of the news reports being circulated about our treasured son and are waiting for confirmation from the government as to the authenticity of these reports. We will have no other statement at this time and ask that you please respect our privacy.

'The family respectfully asks that the news media avoid playing into the hostage takers’ hands and refrain from publishing or broadcasting photographs or video distributed by the hostage takers.

'We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause.'

Speaking in the now-familiar London accent of ISIS executioner-cum-spokesman Jihadi John, a masked jihadist warns: 'To Obama, the dog of Rome. Today we are slaughtering the soldiers of Bashar and tomorrow we will be slaughtering your soldiers.

'And with Allah’s permission we will break this final and last crusade. And the Islamic State will soon, like your puppet David Cameron said, begin to slaughter your people in your streets.’ 

It comes a month after Peter - who changed his name to Abdul-Rahman after converting to Islam - was paraded at the end of a graphic video showing the murder of British aid worker Alan Henning. 

National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said that the administration is 'appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American.'
She added that the White House expresses its deepest condolences to Peter's family and friends.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was 'horrified by the cold blooded murder' of Peter and claimed that Islamic State militants 'have again shown their depravity'.

Mr Kassig was captured in Syria in October last year while providing medical training and humanitarian aid to victims of the country's conflict.
Bloodthirsty: The video shows in full graphic detail how the militants saw the heads off their victims
Bloodthirsty: The video shows in full graphic detail how the militants saw the heads off their victims
Grandparents: A younger Peter is pictured with his grandparents. His grandfather, a co-founder of Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, was an advocate for Palestinians in their struggle for a homeland
Grandparents: A younger Peter is pictured with his grandparents. His grandfather, a co-founder of Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, was an advocate for Palestinians in their struggle for a homeland
Peter is pictured cradling an injured kitten that he and a friend rescued and nursed back to health
Peter is seen smiling in his high school graduation portrait from North Central High School in Indianapolis
Tragic: Peter is pictured cradling an injured kitten that he and a friend rescued and nursed back to health (left) and smiling in his high school graduation portrait from North Central High School in Indianapolis (right)

Previous beheading videos showed a desert landscape but this latest release appears to be in front of a town with fields in the distance. Mr Kassig's apparent murder is not shown.

CLICK BELOW TO READ MUCH MORE

No comments:

Post a Comment