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In 2014, an unknown number of Syrians, several Lebanese soldiers, at least 10 Kurds, two American journalists and one American and two British aid workers, have been beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a radical Sunni Islamist group operating in Iraq and parts of Syria, and beheading videos were posted to social media. Some of the beheadings have apparently been conducted by an individual who appears in several videos speaking English with an English accent who is known by the pseudonym "Jihadi John". He is reported as a member of an ISIL cell that uses the name the Beatles.

The beheadings received wide coverage around the world along with international condemnation. Political scientist Max Abrahms posited that ISIL may be using well-publicized beheadings as a means of differentiating itself from Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and identifying itself with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaeda member who beheaded Daniel Pearl.

Known beheadings

Syrian soldiers

Photos of the beheadings of a number of Syrian soldiers were posted by ISIL members to social media on July 25. The reports said up to 75 Syrian soldiers from a captured base were beheaded with their heads and bodies displayed along the streets.

Khaled Sharrouf incident

In 2014, Khaled Sharrouf, an Australian citizen, joined ISIL, which was proscribed by Australian authorities as a terrorist organisation. Sharrouf's activities received wide coverage in Australia following his posting of a photo of his seven-year-old son holding the decapitated head of a Syrian soldier. The incident was strongly condemned by Australian leaders and by the public. Sharrouf's activities are thought to be war crimes. The incident raised concerns about Australian Muslims being recruited for terrorist activity abroad, and the possibility that the recruits would return to Australia and conduct further attacks.

James Foley

James Wright Foley (October 18, 1973 – c. August 19, 2014) was an American freelance journalist and photojournalist of the Syrian Civil War when he was abducted on November 22, 2012, in northwestern Syria. Foley was the first American citizen to be killed by "Jihadi John". James Foley's beheading by ISIL received wide condemnation in the United States.

Ali al-Sayyed

Lebanese Army Sergeant Ali al-Sayyed (July 15, 1985 – c. August 28, 2014) was beheaded following his capture by ISIL during the Battle of Arsal. ISIL member Abu Musaab Hafid al-Baghdadi posted pictures of his beheading on Twitter. The beheading sparked public outrage in Lebanon. Sergeant Al-Sayed's body was delivered to Lebanese authorities on September 1, and the body confirmed through DNA tests on September 2. His funeral ceremony was held on September 3, with family, friends, members of the public, comrades, and Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwaji.

Steven Sotloff

Steven Joel Sotloff (May 11, 1983 – c. September 2, 2014) was an Israeli-American journalist for Time magazine and The Jerusalem Post, although the Post disavowed any relationship once Sotloff's life was threatened. In 2013, he was kidnapped in Aleppo, Syria, and was held captive by Islamic militants. On September 2, 2014, a video was released purporting to show "Jihadi John" beheading Steven Sotloff.

David Haines

David Haines (May 9, 1970 – c. September 13, 2014) was abducted in March 2013 by ISIL while working in Syria for the humanitarian aid group Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development assessing the Atmeh refugee camp near the Turkish border and the Syrian province of Idlib.

Haines' family requested that his abduction be kept a secret. The abduction became public when Haines appeared in the purported Sotloff beheading video, being held by "Jihadi John" who threatened that Haines would be the next victim. The UK Foreign Office originally requested the British media to not publish Haines' identity, fearing for his safety, though international press had published his name.

A video of the lead-up and aftermath of David Haines' beheading, entitled "A Message to the Allies of America", was released by ISIL on September 13, 2014.

Abbas Medlej

Lebanese Army soldier Abbas Medlej is believed to have been beheaded following an attempted escape from his captors. ISIL members claim that he was contained following an escape attempt, where he fired upon his captors, according to comments made by an IS Leader on the Turkish Anatolia news channel. Gruesome photos of the slaughtered soldier were posted on several pro-jihadist Twitter accounts on September 6. Abbas Medlej was captured by ISIL during the Battle of Arsal.

Kurdish soldier

An unidentified Kurdish soldier was beheaded following capture.

15 beheadings in Afghanistan

On September 20, 2014, local officials in Ghazni Province Afghanistan reported that Taliban insurgents from different regions of the country lead by camouflaged men wearing black masks had captured several villages, set at least 60 homes on fire, killed more than 100 people and beheaded fifteen family members of local police officers. The masked insurgents reportedly carried the black flag of ISIL, openly called themselves soldiers of Da'esh, and did not speak any local languages.

Deputy Police Chief General Asadullah Ensafi reported that Taliban ambushes stopped reinforcements from the Afghan National Army and provincial police from reaching the area. Afghan commandos inserted by helicopter were able to reinforce units already defending the area and the "immediate threat to district's center had been nullified."

Hervé Gourdel

Hervé Gourdel (September 12, 1959 – c. September 24, 2014) was a French citizen and mountaineering guide. Gourdel was kidnapped on September 21, 2014, while hiking in the Djurdjura National Park in Algeria.

The following day, a recently formed ISIL affiliate in Algeria, Jund al-Khilafah, released a video which showed Hervé Gourdel being held hostage. The group threatened to kill Gourdel if the French government continued to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State. On September 24, they carried through on threats to behead him after a 24-hour deadline passed. The beheading was captured in a video titled "A Message of Blood for French Government."

The video is similar to other ISIL beheading videos. It opens with a news clip of French President François Hollande and a title screen. It then shows Hervé Gourdel handcuffed and kneeling in front of four armed masked men. After Gourdel delivers a statement, one of the militants reads a statement. In it he declares that this kidnapping and execution were in response to the order of ISIL spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani to attack citizens of countries participating in the US-led coalition against the Islamic State. Like the other IS beheading videos, it does not show the actual beheading, but the final scene does show Hervé Gourdel's dead body with his severed head in his lap, and then the fighters holding it up.

The day after the beheading, approximately 2,000 Algerian soldiers and 500 marines assisted by helicopters and sniffer dogs searched the Tizi Ouzou region to try to find the militants responsible for the beheading. A spokesman for the Algerian government reiterated its commitment to protecting foreign residents living inside the country, which includes around 30,000 French citizens.

Kobane and eastern Syria beheadings

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on October 1 that ISIL had beheaded 10 individuals near Kobane, Syria – two male and three female Kurdish fighters, four Syrian Arab rebels and a male Kurdish civilian. "I don't know why they were arrested or beheaded. Only the Islamic State knows why. They want to scare people," according to Rami Abdulrahman. He also reported ISIL has used beheadings in eastern Syria to scare local leaders of Sunni Muslim tribes to withdraw from the battlefield. The beheadings are often carried out in public and the public is told that any violent or non-violent dissent will not be tolerated.

Alan Henning

Alan Henning (August 15, 1967 – c. October 3, 2014) was a British humanitarian aid worker. Henning was the fourth Western hostage killed by ISIL. Henning was captured during ISIL's occupation of the Syrian city of Al-Dana in December 2013, where he was helping with humanitarian relief. The British Foreign Office withheld news of Henning's capture while they attempted to negotiate his release. Alan Henning was shown at the end of David Haines's beheading video, released on September 13, 2014, and referred to by "Jihadi John" as the next victim. A video of Henning's beheading was released by ISIL on October 3, 2014.

Raad al-Azzawi and others

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and his family said that on September 7, 2014 ISIL seized and on October 11 publicly beheaded Raad al-Azzawi (or translated Azzaoui), 37, a TV Salaheddin cameraman from the village of Samra, east of Tikrit in Iraq. According to RSF al-Azzawi was taken because he refused to work for ISIL. They also kidnapped and killed, possibility also by beheading, al-Azzawi's brother and several other civilians. In December 2013 ISIL militants had attacked al-Azzawi's TV station with suicide bombs, killing 5 journalists, after accusing the station of "distorting the image of Iraq's Sunni community." These actions are part of a widespread organized effort to control the press through violence. At about the same time, AP reported that ISIL beheaded a number of journalists in Syria.

Baiji, Iraq

A security official in Baiji said three men were beheaded on October 10, 2014.

Peter Kassig

Peter Edward Kassig, also known by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig which he assumed in captivity, was 26 years old at the time he was beheaded. He was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the adopted child of Ed, a school teacher, and Paula Kassig, a nurse.

He attended North Central High School in Indianapolis, graduating in 2006. Kassig then became a U.S. Army Ranger, with an army special operations unit, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. His service including training in Fort Benning, Georgia, and a four-month deployment to Iraq, from June 2006 to September 2007, when he received a medical discharge. Thereafter, he was a student at Hanover College (which he attended from 2007–09) and Butler University (which he attended from spring 2011 to 2012, majoring in political science).

Kassig next worked in Syria and Lebanon as a humanitarian worker. He aided Syrian refugees through Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA), a non-governmental organization he founded in the Fall of 2012 to provide refugees in Syria and Lebanon with medical assistance, supplies, clothing, and food. Kassig trained as a medical assistant, provided trauma care to Syrians who were injured, and helped train others to provide medical aid.

On October 1, 2013, as he was on his way to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria to deliver food and medical supplies to refugees, Kassig was taken captive by ISIL. He was kept in a cell with French journalist Nicolas Henin and British journalist John Cantlie, and beaten regularly. While in captivity, during torture, Kassig – formerly a Methodist – converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig, sometime between October and December 2013. On October 3, 2014, his parents released a video in which they stressed that his conversion to Islam was not forced, and that his path to conversion began before he was taken captive.

Kassig was named as the next victim to be beheaded in the video released by ISIL on October 3, 2014, that showed Alan Henning's beheading, and Kassig was shown in the video wearing a Guantanamo Bay-style orange jump suit. On October 3, his family sent a video message to the Islamic State, asking for mercy for their son. Kassig's mother later tweeted an entreaty to the leader of the Islamic State over Twitter, asking to communicate with him, and Kassig's parents maintained Facebook and Twitter accounts dedicated to raising awareness of their son’s captivity.

On November 16, 2014, ISIL posted a video showing "Jihadi John" standing over a severed human head. The beheading itself was not shown in the video. The White House later confirmed the person killed was Kassig. The Daily Telegraph and security expert Will Geddes speculated that Kassig may have defied his captors, and refused to provide a beheading video statement.

18 Syrian soldiers

On November 16, 2014, in the same video that depicted Peter Kassig's death, ISIS also included the beheading of 18 Syrian soldiers in gruesome detail. The BBC pointed out that this video "revels in gore", and unlike previous videos, this one showed the faces of many of the militants and provided the location as Dabiq in Aleppo Province. The same day, Welsh citizen Ahmed Muthana, originally from Yemen, said his 20-year-old son Nasser Muthana was among the 16 jihadists in the 16-minute video. Nasser was a medical student and lived in Cardiff. However it was later revealed by facial analysis that the militant in question was not Nasser Muthana.

On November 17, French media reported that 22-year-old French citizen Maxime Hauchard, who goes by the nom de guerre Abdallah Al-Faransi, was believed to be among the executioners in the beheading video. Hauchard lived in Normandy and converted to Islam at the age of 17. A French prosecutor said that another Frenchman may have also been present. On November 19, 22-year-old Michael Dos Santos, known by fellow militants with his nom de guerre Abou Uthman, was also identified by the French media as the second French Jihadist featured in the beheading video. Dos Santos lived in Champigny-sur-Marne east of Paris and converted to Islam in 2010.

Alleged Australian beheading plot

In a pre-dawn police raid on September 18, 2014, Australian law enforcement detained 15 individuals in Sydney and Brisbane who were allegedly plotting a "demonstration execution". The purported plan was to kidnap a random resident of Sydney and behead the individual on camera, draped in the black flag of the Islamic State.

Reasons for beheadings

Those who commit beheadings point to one specific passage in the Quran:

"When you encounter the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads until you have crushed them completely; then bind the prisoners tightly."

According to Professor Ibrahim al-Marashi, ISIL's earlier incarnations used beheadings to force foreign policy changes such as getting the Philippines to withdraw from the Iraq War. Now ISIL is using beheadings of locals to intimidate people, including their own soldiers, into obeying the dictates of a weak state. Beheadings of westerners are designed to strike back at the United Kingdom and the United States for military actions against ISIL that they have no other way of responding to. "With an act of a sword, they manage to force both Obama and Cameron to react. The two men, who control the world's most advanced militaries, find themselves at the mercy of the sword. Both displayed physical pain and grief when they condemned the way their nationals died." says al-Marashi.

"Terror Marketing" to recruit new fighters is another motivation. "Some of these men almost have a pornographic attraction to these violent scenes, these violent beheading videos. It really sort of energizes them." said Paul Cruickshank, a terrorism analyst for CNN

International response

Barack Obama condemned the actions of the militants and Jihadi John in particular and vowed punishment for all the militants responsible behind the videotaped beheadings. Secretary of State John Kerry also called Jihadi John a "coward behind a mask" and, echoing Obama, stated that all those responsible would be held accountable by the United States. British officials have also reiterated their commitment to capturing those responsible for the beheadings. Admiral Alan West, a former UK Security Minister, said that Jihadi John is a "dead man walking" who will be "hunted down like Osama Bin-Laden". David Cameron also stated that he was absolutely certain that Jihadi John would "one way or another, face justice", he also condemned the actions. Other figures like Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, and Secretary General of Interpol Ronald Noble also stated that Jihadi John should be brought to justice.

The day after the video of the beheading of Steven Sotloff surfaced, British Prime Minister David Cameron told the House of Commons: "I am sure the whole House, and the whole country, will join with me in condemning the sickening and brutal murder of another American hostage, and share our shock and anger that it again appears to have been carried out by a British citizen. All our thoughts are with the British hostage and his family. Their ordeal is unimaginable." He concluded: "A country like ours will not be cowed by these barbaric killers. If they think we will weaken in the face of their threats, they are wrong. It will have the opposite effect. We will be more forthright in the defence of the values, liberty under the rule of law, freedom, democracy that we hold dear."

Soon after the David Haines video surfaced, Prime Minister Cameron released a statement by Twitter: "The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude. We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."

The White House released this statement via Twitter: "The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of UK citizen David Haines by the terrorist group ISIL Our hearts go out to the family of Mr. Haines and to the people of the United Kingdom. The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve. 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."

The British Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) has been working to "take extremist material off the internet" and has removed over 28,000 pieces of "unlawful terrorist-related content" between December 2013 and August 2014.

In response the beheading of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Agence France-Presse (AFP) released a statement saying that it would "no longer accept work from freelance journalists who travel to places where we ourselves would not venture." including Syria. The Boston-based GlobalPost, for whom Foley had been a contributor, released a statement saying "While we continue to send staff correspondents to Syria, we no longer accept freelance work from that war zone."

Two days after the beheading of Hervé Gourdel, hundreds of Muslims gathered in the Grand Mosque of Paris to show solidarity against the beheading. The protest was lead by the leader of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, Dalil Boubakeur, and was joined by thousands of other Muslims around the country. French president François Hollande said Gourdel’s beheading was “cowardly” and “cruel,” and confirmed that airstrikes would continue against ISIL in Iraq. Hollande also called for three days of national mourning, with flags flown at half-mast throughout the country and said that security would be increased throughout Paris.

See also

• Beheading in Islamism
• Beheading video
• The Beatles, terrorist cell of the Islamic State that guarded and beheaded a number of hostages

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• Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant activities
• Foreign hostages in Syria
• Kidnappings by Islamists
• Islamism-related beheadings