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Journalist Reportedly Executed by Islamic Group

Aug 20, 2014  •  Post A Comment

A journalist has reportedly been executed by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). NBC News reports that freelance journalist James Wright Foley, who was reporting for the U.S.-based news service GlobalPost when he was kidnapped two years ago in Syria, was apparently executed.

In a video obtained by NBC News, Foley is shown “reciting threats against America before he is executed by an ISIS militant.” GlobalPost has a partnership with NBC News, the story notes.

Foley’s father, John, told “Today” last year that his family hadn’t heard from James since he was captured on Thanksgiving Day in 2012. Foley had previously been held captive for 44 days in Libya, and told The Boston Globe that he didn’t want “to be defined as that guy who got captured in 2011.” He added, “I believe that front-line journalism is important.”

ISIS claims in the video that it is holding another journalist, Steven Joel Sotloff, a freelancer who worked for several news organizations.

In a statement, the White House National Security Council said the “intelligence community is working as quickly as possible” to determine whether the video is authentic. “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,” the statement said.

james wright foley

James Wright Foley

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