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ISIS Releases Another Gruesome Beheading Video, Allegedly of US Journalist Steven Sotloff

Written byAmira Al Hussaini
Read this post in Español, Swahili
Posted 2 September 2014 20:53 GMT
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has shared a second gruesome video which allegedly shows the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff. Photo shared widely on social media

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has shared a second gruesome video which allegedly shows the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff. Photograaph shared widely on social media

A second video showing the beheading of an American journalist by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a spin-off of Al Qaeda that has come to control one-third of Syria and a quarter of Iraq, has emerged.

The three-minute video allegedly shows the beheading of Steven Sotloff, whose work in hotspots across the Middle East has taken him to Bahrain, Syria, Egypt, Libya and Turkey.

Sotloff disappeared in August last year while reporting in Syria.

This gruesome video follows the beheading of American photojournalist James Wright Foley, who has been missing in Syria for 636 days, before a video showing his murder was released by the ISIS on August 19.

Sotloff was identified in the Foley video, with a warning that he would be next. Now another hostage, David Haines, from the UK, is said to appear in this second video.

DC-based journalist Zaid Benjamin tweets to his 45.5K followers:

According to NBC News, Haines, a former British military, left the military to work for NGOs, where he provides security work.


Shock

The news came as a shock to many.

Kurdish-British blogger Ruwayda Mustafah, with 41K followers on Twitter, is speechless:

Emile Hokayem, Mideast analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, explains to his 15K followers on Twitter saying the widespread of such horrific videos showcasing ISIS’ crimes desensitize Middle Eastern societies:

He further explains that ISIS is keen on making such videos public as part of its “terror” strategy.


Colleagues Pay Tribute

On Twitter, many describe Sotloff as a brave journalist.

Photojournalist Mazen Mahdi from Bahrain remarks:

He adds:

Journalist Portia Walker laments her loss:

Lauren Bohn's last encounter with Sotloff was in Cairo. The multi-media journalist, who is now in Istanbul, recalls:

And Global Post journalist Jeb Boone met Sofloff in Yemen. He remembers how people were confused between them:


#ISISmediaBlackout

Just like with the Foley video, many are calling for an ISIS media blackout. Instead of sharing the ISIS beheading video, they are calling for remembering Sotloff in better times.

Among them is Zach Green, who says:

This tweet has been shared about 800 times at the time of writing this post.

From Libya, Ismael lends his support:

Boone adds:

And from Lebanon, Elie Fares explains:


What next?

For Huffington Post Middle East correspondent Joshua Hersh, who is based in New York, little is being done to stop the ISIS’ atrocities:


Meanwhile..

Syrian Razan Saffour reminds us that Muslim journalists too are not immune from the ISIS.

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Written byAmira Al Hussaini

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