The beheading of British humanitarian aid worker David Haines has been allegedly shown in a newly released video by the Islamic State video. The video comes just a day after his family urged the Islamic State to show mercy. The British Foreign Office is still trying to verify the authenticity of the video that comes a day after the family appealed for his release. featuring the execution that British Prime Minister David Cameron described as “an act of pure evil.”
The video is titled “A Message to the Allies of America” –
The video begins with footage of Prime Minister David Cameron during an interview. He says:
We have to stick to the very clear foreign policy and the very clear strategy we have, which is to work with the new Iraqi government to help make sure the Kurds get the arms they need to fight off these brutal, extremist militants, to work with our allies, and as I’ve said to use everything we have — our aid, our diplomacy, and our military prowess — to make sure that with our allies we do everything we can to put pressure on Islamic State, the supporting organization.
The scene is cut. A black screen shows Arabic text, followed by English text showing the title of the video: “A Message to the Allies of America.” The format is the same as the two previous execution videos showing the decapitation of U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and Ben Foley. Haines is on his knees in a desert setting wearing an orange jumpsuit with an executioner, possibly the man known as “jihadi John”, towering over him to the left.
The video then shows Haines with longer hair from his appearance in Sotloff’s video. He reads from a statement he was probably forced to memorize.
My name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I hold you, David Cameron, entirely responsible for my execution.
You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State, just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend amongst our British prime ministers who can’t find the courage to say no to the Americans.
Unfortunately, it is we the British public that in the end will pay for the price for our parliament’s selfish decisions.
The executioner says:
This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State.
Ironically, he has spent a decade of his life serving under the brutal air force that is responsible for delivering those arms.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 playing the role of the obedient lapdog, Cameron, will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war.
The executioner puts a knife to Haines’ throat. The scene is cut and then shows the executioner standing over another man identified as British man Alen Henning. He says:
If you, Cameron, insist on fighting the Islamic State then you, like your master, Obama, will have the blood of your people on your hands.
British Alan Henning could be next in line
Similarities between the three videos –
All three videos are roughly of two and a half minutes duration and show the men in a desert setting that could be the hills south of Raqqa in Syria that has been under Isis control for more than a year. The format followed is the same with all three hostages addressing the microphone following an address by the relevant leaders of their countries. Both Haines and Sotloff’s hair seem to have grown since their appearance at the previous video, indicating that they were recorded at a later date. All men appear to be kneeling next to their masked killer with the British accent who holds a hand knife, however the jihadi’s voiceovers are more muffled with each other. In all three videos, the jihadi appears to be left-handed.
David Haines as he appeared in the Sotloff video
David Haines in the video released on September 14 showing his own execution
The actual beheading isn’t shown in any of the videos but stops when the knife reaches their throat and then moves to the body and head on the ground.
Haines in better days
How he looked in the video that reportedly shows his execution
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