- 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
Published:
03:02 GMT, 17 November 2014
|
Updated:
12:45 GMT, 17 November 2014
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
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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
+16
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.
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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
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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.'
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Family: Mr and Mrs Kassig are seen with Peter - who changed his name to Abdul-Rahman - in an old photo
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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.
+16
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
+16
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.
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Bloodthirsty: The video shows in full graphic detail how the militants saw the heads off their victims
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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
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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.
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