Video Shows Beheading of ISIL Hostage
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A video has been released on the internet that purports to show an ISIL fighter beheading British hostage Alan Henning, the fourth such killing carried out by the armed group now being targeted by US-led air strikes.
The video begins with a news clip announcing British strikes against ISIL, or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified, though it was released in the same manner as other ISIL videos and the masked man sounded similar to the one who carried out the other slayings.
Henning, 47, nicknamed "Gadget", had joined an aid convoy and was taken captive on December 26, shortly after crossing the border between Turkey and Syria.
Earlier this week, Henning's wife Barbara Henning asked ISIL in a televised plea: "Please release him. We need him back home."
In a statement, the British Foreign Office said it was working to verify the video.
"If true, this is a further disgusting murder," the statement read. "We are offering the family every support possible; they ask to be left alone at this time."
Britain has been supporting US military efforts against ISIL by using British forces to help with logistics and intelligence gathering, as well as recently taking part in air strikes in Iraq.
Dozens of Muslim leaders in Britain had urged ISIL to release Henning. His wife had said she had been given hope by "the outcry across the world" over her husband's imprisonment, Al Jazeera reported.
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim charity, called Henning "a British hero".
His "barbaric killing is an attack against all decent people around the world", Shafiq said.
David Cameron, UK prime minister, said Henning's apparent slaying showed "how barbaric and repulsive these terrorists are".
US President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco, said the US had seen the video and was evaluating it.
"This is again yet another just very clear example of the brutality of this group, and why the president has articulated and is moving out in a comprehensive way to degrade and destroy ISIL," Monaco said.
