James Foley

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Islamic State 'Beatle' Guilty in Deaths of Americans

El Shafee Elsheikh, convicted on all counts, faces life in prison

(Newser) - A jury convicted a British national Thursday for his role in an Islamic State group hostage-taking scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, three of whom were beheaded. The jury deliberated for four hours before finding El Shafee Elsheikh...

ISIS Captive's Letter to Dad Leaves Courtroom in 'Tears'

Peter Kassig, killed in 2014, wrote that his last thought would be of the love of his parents

(Newser) - If Peter Kassig was true to his word, the only thought running through his mind as he was beheaded by Islamic State terrorists was how much his parents loved him. Ed Kassig, the father of the US aid worker who was taken hostage in Syria in 2013 and killed a...

In Case of the ISIS 'Beatles,' a Milestone

El Shafee Elsheikh, Alexanda Kotey are indicted, accused of beheadings, torture of Westerners

(Newser) - The Justice Department unsealed charges Wednesday against two Islamic State militants from Britain, accusing them of carrying out a gruesome campaign of torture, beheadings, and other acts of violence against Western hostages they'd captured in Syria, including four Americans. El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey are two of four...

Hostage Last Seen in Video 2 Years Ago May Be Alive

John Cantlie was kidnapped in 2012

(Newser) - In November 2012, British war photographer John Cantlie and American journalist James Foley were kidnapped in Syria and held by ISIS. In August 2014, Foley was beheaded. Now comes word that the British government believes Cantlie is still alive more than six years later, and still being held by ISIS....

FBI Testing Possible Remains of ISIS Hostages

Captured 'Beatles' provided info on burial sites

(Newser) - The families of American hostages murdered by ISIS in Syria may finally be able to lay their loved ones to rest. Officials and relatives tells ABC News that human remains in areas of Syria liberated from the group are being tested by the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va., though it...

Captured ISIS Fighters Might Know Where Mueller's Body Is

They're said to be pointing out grave sites

(Newser) - The capture of two ISIS fighters who may know the whereabouts of Kayla Mueller's body has raised hope that her parents might finally be able to put their daughter to rest. ISIS said the aid worker kidnapped in Syria in 2013 was killed in 2015 when a Jordanian airstrike...

Disturbing ISIS Tweets Cost Le Pen Immunity

After EU Parliament vote, French prosecutors can now dive into investigation of postings

(Newser) - French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen lost EU parliamentary immunity Thursday by "a large show of hands," Reuters reports, giving prosecutors more leeway to investigate tweets she posted in December 2015. The offending tweets included graphic imagery of executions carried out by the Islamic State, the Guardian reports,...

Families of Slain Hostages to Obama: Save Austin Tice

US journalist is being held captive in Syria

(Newser) - American journalist Austin Tice—believed to be the only US reporter held hostage anywhere in the world—was captured in Syria in August 2012. Since then, US hostages James Foley , Peter Kassig , Kayla Mueller , and Steven Sotloff have been killed, and their families fear Tice's parents will soon have...

Foley's Parents on Jihadi John News: US Doesn't Get It

More effort should've gone toward hostages than to 'deranged man,' they say

(Newser) - We may never have to see "Jihadi John" again thanks to a drone strike that may have taken him ou t Thursday night. Though reports on Mohammed Emwazi's reported demise have yet to be confirmed, British PM David Cameron noted at a Friday press conference that "I'...

US: We Won't Prosecute Families for Paying Ransom

Review of policy comes after criticism from relatives of slain ISIS captives

(Newser) - The Obama administration will tell families of Americans held by terror groups that they can communicate with captors and even pay ransom without fear of prosecution—part of a broad review of US hostage guidelines that will be released tomorrow. President Obama ordered the review last fall after the deaths...

US to Back Off Threat to Hostage Families Who Pay Ransom

Won't face jail time; James Foley's mom says gov't 'trying to make it right'

(Newser) - In the wake of James Foley's murder in the Syrian desert, his grief-stricken mother very publicly berated the American government for not doing all it could to free him—and for threatening the Foleys "very clearly three times that it was illegal for us to try to ransom...

Report: US Sat on Info About Hostages' Location

Daily Beast says US waited a month to act on British intelligence

(Newser) - A few weeks after the US staged a failed rescue mission last July to retrieve ISIS hostages Kayla Mueller , James Foley , and Steven Sotloff , the Muslim insurgents started sending out a gruesome chain of beheading videos. Now US and UK officials are saying that the hostages had been moved just...

ISIS Wants $1M for Body of James Foley

Islamic State now trying to ransom his remains

(Newser) - The Islamic State couldn't get a ransom for James Foley while he was alive, but now the group wants to collect one for his remains, reports BuzzFeed . The website quotes three sources as saying that ISIS will turn over the American journalist's body for $1 million and provide...

US to Review How We Handle Hostage Cases

'Increased frequency of hostage-taking' abroad spurs effort

(Newser) - Amid ISIS' continued onslaught against American hostages and widespread criticism of the White House's response, President Obama has ordered a review of policy in handling hostage situations abroad, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move comes "as a result of the increased frequency of hostage-taking of Americans overseas,...

For ISIS Hostages, a Litany of Horror Before Death

Americans, Brits bore brunt of excruciating abuse for months

(Newser) - When James Foley was forced to his knees in the sands outside Raqqa, stared straight into a camera, and met his unimaginably horrifying and public death at the hands of the Islamic State, the world recoiled at the brutality. But Foley's execution—and those that followed—was the culmination...

FBI: We've Identified 'Jihadi John'

But FBI Director James Comey isn't making the information public

(Newser) - The US believes it has identified the British-accented masked man in videos related to the beheadings of two American journalists and a British aid worker. But FBI chief James Comey told reporters that he would not reveal the man's name or nationality. Comey did not address whether the US...

White House: We Did Not Threaten Foleys or Sotloffs

'We made clear what the law is,' when families weighed paying ransom

(Newser) - The White House hit back at allegations from the families of James Foley and Steven Sotloff that they were threatened with prosecution as they weighed whether to pay Islamic State militants ransom for their sons. "In terms of what was communicated to the families, in the midst of many,...

James Foley's Mom Rips US Over Son's Death

Says government threatened to prosecute if family paid a ransom

(Newser) - James Foley's mother has some blistering words for the US government in how it handled her son's abduction . In an interview with Anderson Cooper that airs tonight on CNN , Diane Foley says she is "embarrassed and appalled" at how American officials acted. Officials threatened family members with...

Sotloff Family Rep Challenges ISIS Leader to Debate

Says slain journalist wasn't a 'war junkie' or a hero, just a 'mere man'

(Newser) - The family of Steven Sotloff has broken its silence in the wake of the journalist's execution with a message equal parts tribute and defiance. Sotloff was neither a "war junkie" nor a "hero," says family spokesman Barak Barfi. "He was a mere man who tried...

Biden: We'll Chase ISIS to 'Gates of Hell'

While Hagel reiterates that US will 'degrade and destroy' the group

(Newser) - Joe Biden today said America will follow the terrorists who posted videos showing the beheading of two journalists "to the gates of hell." Speaking at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Biden said the Islamic State militant group responsible for beheading James Foley and Steven Sotloff won't intimidate the...

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