Beheaded: James Wright Foley in a grab taken from YouTube and posted online by ISIS
Appeal: Foley's mother Diana (center in left picture) issued a statement following the video's release, asking ISIS to release the other hostages
Foley, has been missing since November 2012, after being taken hostage at gunpoint while reporting from Taftanaz, in northern Syria, for the agency GlobalPost.
ISIS posted the extremely graphic video shot at an unknown location, titled 'A Message to America' to social media as proof of their barbaric actions.
In a chilling warning at the end of the grisly film, the executioner, who speaks with what sounds like a British accent, parades another American journalist, Steven Joel Sotloff, who went missing in August 2013, saying: 'The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision.'
Terror: Photojournalist James Wright Foley spoke before his beheading to say ''I call on my friends, family members and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government.'
Addressing the camera: James Wright Foley's executioner holds his knife and unfurls his reasons for taking the American journalists life
President Barack Obama was briefed on the video as he was flying back to the White House on Air Force One From his Martha's Vineyard vacation. White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden says the administration has seen the video.
She says that if it’s deemed genuine by the intelligence community, the US would be ‘appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist.’
Two U.S. officials have since confirmed anonymously that the man in the video is indeed Foley. One of the officials says President Obama will comment on the video on Wednesday.
As the disturbing video infolds, Foley, dressed in orange and on his knees, is unflinching to the end as he addresses the camera before his death.
It appears the journalist has been coerced into blaming the United States by his brutal captors. His voice strong, but struggling at times to swallow as he battles against fear, he brands the US government his real killers as a man in black robes armed with a gun stands over him.
Foley, who has been missing for almost two years, also leaves a haunting message for his brother, John, who is thought to be in the US Air Force.
Referring to US airstrikes launched nearly two weeks ago in Iraq, Foley says: ‘I died that day, John, when your colleagues dropped that bomb on these people. They signed my death certificate’
As the appalling video unfolds, Foley blames the 'complacency and criminality' of the United States for his impending death.
Tragedy: James Wright Foley has been missing since Thanksgiving, 2012 and was beheaded by ISIS forces in a recorded message to President Obama on Tuesday
FULL MESSAGE FROM JAMES WRIGHT FOLEY'S MOTHER:
We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.
We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.
We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.
'I GUESS I WISH I WASN'T AMERICAN': PHOTOJOURNALIST JAMES WRIGHT FOLEY'S FINAL WORDS TO CAMERA BEFORE HIS DEATH
'I call on my friends family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government. For what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality.
'My message to my beloved parents: save me some dignity and don’t accept any (unclear, possibly says media) compensation for my death, from the same people who effectively hit the last nail in my coffin with a recent aerial campaign in Iraq.
'I call on my brother John, who is/was (this part is also unclear) member of the US Air Force, think about what you are doing, think about lives you destroy including those of your own family.
'I call on you John, think about who made the decision to bomb Iraq recently and kill those people, whoever they may have been.
'Think John, who did they really kill? Did they think about me, you our family when they made that decision?
'I died that day John, when your colleagues dropped that bomb on those people – they signed my death certificate.
'I wish I had more time, I wish I could have the hope of freedom and see my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn’t American.'
In his final, awful message to the world, no doubt prepared for him by his captors, Foley pleads for more time and to have seen his family again.
In a final insult from his vengeful executioners, Foley is made to deny his birthright as a citizen of the United States.
'I wish I had more time, I wish I could have the hope of freedom and see my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn’t American,' says Foley before his tragic death.
The reporter then stops speaking and his executioner steps forward. The masked, armed and black robe-clad man speaks in English in what is thought to be a British accent.
Disgusting: After the death of James Wright Foley, the ISIS representative parades TIME reporter Steven Joel Sotloff in front of the camera
Members of the UK's Associated Press pegged the accent to the South East of England and London, while others have claimed the accent resembles one from North Africa.
‘This is James Wright Foley, an American citizen of your country. As a government you have been at the forefront of the aggression towards the Islamic State,' begins the executioner.
'You have plotted against us and gone far out of your way to find reasons to interfere in our affairs. Today, your military airforce is attacking us daily in Iraq.
'Your strikes have caused casualties amongst Muslims. You are no longer fighting an insurgency.
'We are an Islamic Army and a state that has been accepted by a large number of Muslims worldwide.
'So effectively, any aggression toward the Islamic State is aggression towards Muslims from all walks of life who have accepted the Islamic Caliphate as their leadership.
'So any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic Caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.’
At this point the executioner beheads Foley, who is kneeling bravely with hands tied behind his back. His body is displayed with the head atop the body.
Then in another chilling warning, the executioner holds another man, on his knees with his hands tied behind his back, by the scruff of the neck. A caption claims it is Steven Joel Soltoff.
The executioner says: ‘The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision.’
GlobalPost's co-founder, Charles Sennott told ABC News that there is 'no reliable proof that this execution is authentic.
'If the video is verified, it is just unfathomable darkness to think that a life as bright as Jim Foley's ended that way,' Sennott said. 'He was an experienced and fearless journalist who believed deeply in reporting from the frontlines.'
Two years of hope: James Foley's parents, John and Diane Foley, pose outside their house where a yellow ribbon hangs in an image taken after they decided to publicize his disappearance
The gruesome video clip opens with President Obama announcing the commencement of American air strikes on Iraq against ISIS.
'Today I authorized two operations in Iraq: targeted airstrikes to protect our American personnel, and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who are trapped on a mountain without food and water, and facing almost certain death,' says Obama in a statement dated, August 7.
ISIS, which has claimed control of most of northern Iraq and parts of Syria is threatening to kill Time journalist Steven Joel Sotloff next unless President Obama ceases attacks on the terror group.
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