The Islamic State has reportedly executed British volunteer aid worker Alan Henning, the fourth victim to appear in a execution video from the terrorist group since August. The video's authenticity remains unconfirmed, but the British Foreign Office released a statement that said, "if true, this is a further disgusting and senseless murder."
Henning's purported murder was revealed in a video released by ISIS just after 4 p.m. EST on Friday. The video, entitled “Another Message to America and Its Allies,” begins with a cable news segment discussing the United Kingdom’s role in air strikes against ISIS. British forces have been involved in reconnaissance missions over Iraq for weeks, but their first official airstrike on ISIS targets was Tuesday. Thursday, the United States released video of its own airstrikes on ISIS.
At the White House, President Obama's chief homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco, said administration officials were "evaluating" the latest video and that if authentic, it represented "yet another demonstration of the brutality of ISIL."
The release of the video on Friday evening coincides with the start of both Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holiday known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, and Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which happened to fall on the same day this year.