British aid worker David Haines has been
executed by ISIS militants, according to a video
posted Saturday to a website associated with the
group, making him the third Western captive to be
killed by the Islamist extremist group in recent
weeks.
The ISIS video post showing Haines' beheading
called his execution "a message to the allies of
America."
It is produced very similarly to the videos that
showed the executions of American journalists
James Foley and Steven Sotloff, the last of which
included Haines and the threat that he'd be killed
next.
The new video pictures a masked ISIS militant
placing his hand on another captive, whom he
identified as Alan Henning, a British citizen.
In a tweet, British Prime Minister David Cameron
called "the murder of David Haines" an "act of pure
evil."
Cameron added, "We will do everything
in our power to hunt down these
murderers and ensure they face
justice, however long it takes."
Haines offers brief scripted comments
on the video, as does the man who kills
him.
Directing his remarks at Britain, the
executioner -- who sounds like the
man who killed Foley and Sotloff --
says, "Your evil alliance with America,
which continues to strike the Muslims
of Iraq and most recently bombed the
Haditha dam, will only accelerate your
destruction and claim the role of the
obedient lap dog.
"Cameron will only drag you and your
people into another bloody and
unwinnable war."
Retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona -- an Air
Force veteran intelligence officer and CNN military
analyst -- surmised that if ISIS planned to dissuade
Britain for teaming up with the United States, the
group will be disappointed.
"ISIS has just guaranteed British cooperation with
the Americans on all phases of what we're going to
be doing," Francona said. "... I think this is now a
Western fight; it's not just a U.S. fight."
Brother: Haines 'just another bloke' who lived to
help others
News of the gruesome killing came the same day
that the 44-year-old Haines' family released a brief
message to his captors through the British foreign
office.
In it, the family says, "We have sent messages to
you to which we have not received a reply. We are
asking those holding David to make contact with
us."
Haines' face became known to the world in the ISIS
video, released September 2, in which he looks
forward and kneels as a masked ISIS militant
stands behind him.
The militant says in that video, "We take this
opportunity to warn those governments who've
entered this evil alliance of America against the
Islamic State to back off and leave our people
alone."
British officials said after the video's release that
they had sent troops to try to rescue an unidentified
British citizen "some time ago," but failed. They
released no other details.
Mike Haines, in a statement early Sunday, through
the British Foreign Office, noted that his brother
leaves behind two children and his wife Dragana.
He described his brother as "just another bloke"
whose "childhood was centered around our family"
and who was "brought up to know right from
wrong."
David Haines worked for the Royal Mail, then joined
the Royal Air Force. He later worked with the United
Nations in the Balkans, where "he helped whoever
needed help, regardless of race, creed or religion,"
according to his brother.
"During this time, David began to decide that
humanitarian work was the field he wanted to work
in," Mike Haines said. "... David was most alive and
enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles."
After working for ScotRail, David Haines went on to
get a job as a logistics and security manager for the
Paris-based humanitarian Agency for Technical
Cooperation and Development.
He was abducted in March 2013 near a refugee
camp in Atmeh, Syria, where he was working to
arrange for the delivery of humanitarian aid to
people staying at the camp. He had previously
worked on aid operations for victims of conflict in
the Balkans, African and other parts of the Middle
East, according to an ACTED spokesman.
"His joy and anticipation for the work he (did) in
Syria is, for myself and family, the most important
element of this whole sad affair," Mike Haines said.
"He was and is loved by all his family and will be
missed terribly."
British hostage of ISIS was helping displaced
Syrians, aid group says
Obama: U.S. 'stands shoulder-to-shoulder' with
Britain
Another hostage has been publicly killed by ISIS.
Another one's life has been threatened. And fighters
for ISIS -- which calls itself the Islamic State, in a
nod to its efforts to establish a vast caliphate in the
Middle East under its strict version of Sharia law --
are continuing to kill innocent civilians in Iraq and
Syria.
So what's next?
The threat from ISIS has been brewing
for some time. Having begun a decade
ago as al Qaeda in Iraq -- only to be
disowned earlier this year by al Qaeda,
the group behind the September 11,
2001, terrorist attacks, for its heavy-
handed tactics -- ISIS has taken
advantage of instability in Syria and
Iraq to become one of the most
prominent and feared groups in the
Middle East.
ISIS, which is also known as the
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant or
ISIL, managed to become one of the
most successful rebel groups working
to overthrow Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad. It also rampaged through
much of Iraq, thwarting seemingly
overmatched Iraqi troops and
massacring those who did not
subscribe to its extreme version of
Islam.
It wasn't until last month -- albeit before Foley's
killing -- that the American military jumped into the
fray.
"It's a bit like trying to predict an earthquake: You
can see pressure building up on the fault lines but
not knowing when it's going to materialize (or how)
quickly it can disintegrate," Rep. Adam Schiff, a
California Democrat, said Saturday night. "Those
things are very hard to predict."
Partnering with the Iraqi military and Kurdish
fighters, U.S. warplanes have been striking ISIS
targets in Iraq regularly since August 8.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama
announced that U.S. airstrikes would go after the
extremist group in Syria, and perhaps beyond.
"We will hunt down terrorists who threaten our
country, wherever they are," said Obama, who
insisted American troops wouldn't fight "on foreign
soil," though they will play support roles. "That
means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL
in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of
my presidency: if you threaten America, you will
find no safe haven."
The President vowed the United States won't do it
alone. To this end, U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry was in Egypt on Saturday seeking that
country's help in the fight against ISIS.
Britain is one country, at least, that has stepped up
-- even before Haines' killing.
That includes providing "urgent military support" at
the Iraqi government's request, including heavy
machine guns, body armor and nearly half a million
rounds of ammunition to Kurdish fighters known as
the Peshmerga.
The scale of that support, though, could ramp up
now with one Briton executed and Henning's life in
limbo.
To this end, 10 Downing Street announced early
Sunday that Cameron will convene an emergency
meeting of his top security officials to discuss what
Britain will do next.
Obama released a statement late Saturday after
what he called Haines' "barbaric murder," offering
his support for the aid worker's family and his
native Britain.
"The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder
tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and
resolve," the President said.
"We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad
coalition of nations from the region and around the
world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous
act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat
to the people of our countries, the region and the
world."
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