ISIS Threatens Obama, Appears to Execute Another Hostage

ISIS Threatens Obama, Appears to Execute Another Hostage

A video discovered by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) contains a direct threat against the life of President Barack Obama, as well as promises to kill more hostages if Jordan does not release extremist and prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi.

Fox News has the details:

In a new online video discovered by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Tuesday, three Islamic State fighters stand behind a kneeling Kurdish fighter as one of the extremists launches into a diatribe against the U.S. and other Western nations.

“Know, oh Obama, that will reach America,” says one of the fighters, clad in black and wearing a balaclava, in a translation from Arabic provided by MEMRI. “Know also that we will cut off your head in the White House, and transform America into a Muslim Province.”

The extremist also issued warnings to European nations.

“And this is my message to France and to its sister, Belgium,” he said. “We advise you that we will come to you with car bombs and explosive charges, and will cut off your heads.”

The video fades to black as one Islamic State fighter brings a knife up to the unidentified Kurdish fighter’s throat.

Like another message released this weekend, this video did not bear the Islamic State’s media logo; but officials have not released any statements offering a credible denial of the video’s authenticity. The White House has not commented on the threats to President Obama’s life.

This video comes in on the tails of yet another video released today offering a second ultimatum on the lives of two hostages currently believed to be held in Syria. The group’s spokesman claims that the lives of Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto and Jordanian pilot Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh are forfeit unless Rishawi is released:

In the audio message, a man who said he was the Japanese hostage, the freelance journalist Kenji Goto, said that he had only 24 hours to live and that the pilot had even less time unless the Jordanians release the woman, Sajida al-Rishawi. Ms. Rishawi is on death row for her role in a devastating 2005 bomb attack in Jordan.

“I’ve been told this is my last message, and I’ve also been told that the barrier of extracting my freedom is now just the Jordanian government delaying the handover of Sajida,” Mr. Goto said in the message posted on Islamic State-linked Twitter accounts, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors extremist websites.

The pilot, Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh, was shot down over Syria a month ago during coalition air operations against the Islamic State. It was unclear if Mr. Goto was suggesting the pilot would be released with him if Ms. Rishawi were turned over, or just that the pilot’s life would be spared.

Both Japanese and Jordanian officials are working to secure the release of the hostages, but there’s no indication that a deal or rescue is imminent.

Kurdish forces have ISIS on the run from the strategic Syrian city of Kobani, but analysts warn that it’s too early to declare the group finished in the region, and that the Islamic State’s defeat here doesn’t constitute a “turning point” in the war on terror.

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