



According to multiple reports, ISIS claims to have executed American freelance journalist James Wright Foley. Politico’s Blake Hounshell was one the first to report the news on Twitter, saying the militant Islamic group is threatening to kill another reporter in retaliation for U.S. strikes on their forces in Iraq:

Yikes: ISIS claims to have executed American freelance journalist James Foley; threatening to kill Steven Sotloff next. — Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) August 19, 2014

Foley had been missing since November 22, 2012 when he disappeared in Syria.

Mediaite has chosen not to post or link out the video of Foley’s killing, but in the video, entitled “Letter to America,” ISIS terrorists force him to read a letter urging Americans to rise up against his “real killer, the U.S. government.” In addition, Foley says the U.S. airstrikes against ISIS “hammered the final nail into [his] coffin.”

In 2011, Foley spoke to The Boston Globe about being captured in Libya. Watch video below:

Update — Aug 19, 7:40 p.m. ET: National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden delivered the following statement on the Foley video:

“We have seen a video that purports to be the murder of U.S. citizen James Foley by ISIL. The intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity. If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We will provide more information when it is available.”

[Photo via screengrab]

— —

>> Follow Matt Wilstein (@TheMattWilstein) on Twitter

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]