U.S. 'Sickened' By 'Brutal' Beheading Of American Journalist
The United States has released a statement saying it is "sickened" by the recent video purportedly showing the beheading of American journalist Steve Sotloff by the Islamic State militant group. Sotloff is the second American captive to be executed by the terrorist group in the past month.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said U.S. intelligence is still in the process of confirming the video's authenticity, but she and the entire Obama administration are "sickened" by the video that appears to show the execution of Sotloff.
Psaki said U.S. intelligence is going to "work as quickly as possible" to authenticate the video, which was released to the internet Tuesday.
"If the video is genuine, we are sickened by this brutal act, taking the life of another innocent American citizen," Psaki continued. "Our hearts go out to the Sotloff family and we will provide more information as it becomes available."
Barak Barfi, a representative of the Sotloff family, who resides in Miami, Florida, also released a statement saying the family "knows of this horrific tragedy and is grieving privately. There will be no public comment from the family during this difficult time."
In the barbaric video, an Islamic State militant tells the camera that Sotloff's death is retribution for the continued U.S. airstrikes on Iraq. The U.S. has conducted a series of airstrikes in the Middle Eastern country to stop the growing power of the jihadist group, an offshoot of al Qaeda.
Sotloff appeared on an earlier video in August, in which an Islamic State member beheaded another American journalist, James Foley. In the first video, the Islamic State warned that more innocent American blood would be spilled if the U.S. did not respond to its demands.
On the Sept. 2 video, the Islamic militant vowed to kill another captive, Briton David Cawthorne Haines, should the attacks continue.
