IS militants claim to have killed US journalist James Foley - UPDATE
Islamic State (IS) militants circulated a video online on Tuesday which showed the beheading of a man they claimed to be James Foley, an American photojournalist who was kidnapped in Syria two years ago.
The video, entitled "Message to America", was said to be in retaliation to the US airstrikes against IS fighters in northern Iraq.
Foley had been working across the Middle East for America's Global Post as well as other outlets, but went missing in November 2012.
A spokeswoman for the White House said that if the video is genuine, the US "are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American Journalist".
Meanwhile, British foreign secretary Philip Hammond told BBC News that the act was "an appalling example of the brutality of this organisation".
IS warned of further revenge, identifying another captive as journalist Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped last year.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), based in the States, released a statement condemning the murder.
"The barbaric murder of journalist James Foley, kidnapped in Syria and held almost two years, sickens all decent people. Foley went to Syria to show the plight of the Syrian people, to bear witness to their fight, and in so doing to fight for press freedom," said CPJ chair Sandra Mims Rowe.
"Our hearts go out to his family, who had dedicated themselves to finding and freeing Jim."
BC