A senior White House official said on Sunday the US government was “increasingly convinced” that the Isis hostage Peter Kassig was dead.
Earlier in the day, a 15-minute, 53-second video was released by al-Furqan Media, which is controlled by Isis. It showed a man who looked and sounded like a British-accented fighter seen in other such videos, standing over what appeared to be Kassig’s severed head. The video also contained footage of what appeared to be the beheading of several captured Syrian soldiers.
The White House and the Kassig family first said they were awaiting confirmation of his death.
In a statement, the National Security Council spokeswoman, Bernadette Meehan, said: “We are aware of a video that claims to show the murder of US citizen Peter Kassig by [Isis]. The intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity.
“If confirmed, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American aid worker and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We will provide more information when it is available.”
The New York Times quoted the senior official in a report released early on Sunday afternoon. It said US intelligence agencies had recently received strong indications that Isis had killed Kassig.
After the release of the video, Ed and Paula Kassig released a statement in which they said they were aware of reports regarding the death of their “treasured son”, but were awaiting government authentication. The statement also requested that their family’s privacy be respected.
On the Sunday morning talkshows, Matthew Olsen, until recently the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told ABC: “We don’t know when the tape was made, and that’s one of the things analysts are going to be looking at. There are details that can be reviewed.”
Dick Durbin, the second-most senior Democrat in the Senate, called Syria “a charnel house” and told CNN: “This video, if verified, is a tragic reminder of the savagery of Isis and the complexity of our challenge.”
In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the “barbaric murder” and repudiated “the anti-Islamic ideology that produces such brutality”.
Kassig, a former soldier who returned to the Middle East and founded a humanitarian group to work in dangerous areas of the region, was captured in October 2013. He converted to Islam in captivity, changing his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig.
In their statement, Ed and Paula Kassig asked media outlets not to publish the video or stills taken from it: “The family respectfully asks that the news media avoid playing into the hostage takers’ hands and refrain from publishing or broadcasting photographs or video distributed by the hostage takers.
“We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause.”
US authorities are believed to have identified the British-accented Isis fighter, but their findings have not been made public.
Should it be confirmed, Kassig’s murder is the fifth such to be carried out by Isis. The other hostages to be killed were James Foley, an American freelance journalist; Steven Sotloff, an American reporter; David Haines, a British aid worker; and Alan Henning, another British aid worker.
A British journalist, John Cantlie, is believed to be being held by Isis.
