(New York) — The terror group ISIS appears to have executed a British hostage, as seen on a video released online today, making David Haines the third Western hostage the group is believed to have killed in such a public, brutal fashion.
Prior to his apparent beheading, Haines is seen kneeling in an orange jumpsuit next to an armed militant clad entirely in black. Haines gives a statement in which he says British Prime Minister David Cameron is “entirely responsible for [his] execution.”
“You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State [ISIS], just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend amongst British Prime Ministers who can’t find the courage to say no to the Americans,” Haines says.
In another section of the video, the would-be executioner says, “This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the peshmerga against the Islamic State.” The peshmerga are Kurdish forces who, along with Iraqi forces and heavy American air support, dealt ISIS a major blow by wresting from the terror group control of the Mosul Dam last month.
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The new video is similar to two previously released by ISIS in which two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, appeared to be separately beheaded. In those videos, a black clad militant addresses President Obama, warning America to stop its aggressive bombing campaign against ISIS.
Haines was previously seen at the end of the Sotloff video, ISIS implying that he would be next. Similarly, another hostage appears at the end of this new ISIS video.
Cameron reacted to the video on Twitter, saying the “murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil.”
“We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes,” Cameron’s Twitter account said.
American intelligence officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the White House National Security Council referred ABC News’ questions to the British government.
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