Humanitarian Aid Worker Peter Kassig Becomes Third American Beheaded by ISIS

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Nov 17, 2014

Humanitarian Aid Worker Peter Kassig Becomes Third American Beheaded by ISIS

The White House confirmed that Peter Kassig, the 26-year-old humanitarian aid worker who was previously captured and held hostage by ISIS has been killed. 

ISIS militants released a new video Sunday (Nov. 16) claiming that Kassig had been beheaded, though the video did not show the murder. Instead, Kassig’s alleged killer is shown holding a severed head that he claims belongs to Kassig. 

Authorities have verified the authenticity of the video. 

President Obama made a statement following the verification of the video saying that ISIS "revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction."

Kassig’s murder was "an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity,” Obama continued. 

The video also showed the beheadings of several men that terrorists claimed to be members of the Syrian military who are also battling ISIS. 

Some experts believe that the lower quality of the video indicates that ISIS is on the run from the U.S. and its allied. 

Baer, a former CIA analyst said, "They didn't have time to do a nice setup (with) a lot of production values. I think they know they're being targeted. There's a lot of American platforms in the area looking for the hostages, so I think they're trying to beat those."

Publication date: November 17, 2014



Humanitarian Aid Worker Peter Kassig Becomes Third American Beheaded by ISIS