Julia Camara | Echo
In response to the gruesome beheading of the second American journalist in just two weeks by the Islamic State (ISIL), the U.S. is planning to fight ISIL until the group is no longer a force in the Middle East, announced President Obama on Wednesday.
Obama added that it will take time to destroy ISIL because of the power vacuum in Syria, the abundance of veteran Islamist militant fighters that grew out of al Qa'ida during the Iraq war and the need to build coalitions, which includes local Sunni communities, Reuters reported.
The Islamic State released a video of the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff on Tuesday in response to America's air strikes on the militant group. Sotloff, a journalist for Time Magazine, Foreign Policy and the Christian Science Monitor, reported from Egypt, Libya and Syria. In another video released two weeks earlier showing the execution of American journalist James Foley, ISIL threatened the U.S., proclaiming Sotloff was next.
The two-minute execution video showed Sotloff dressed in an orange gown, kneeling in the desert. Sotloff read a message addressing Obama while a masked figure stood beside him holding a knife. "You've spent billions of U.S. taxpayers dollars, and we have lost thousands of our troops in our previous fight against the Islamic State, so where is the people's interest in reigniting the war?" said Sotloff. The masked man warned governments to back off the evil alliance of America against the Islamic State. He then decapitated Sotloff. The video ended with a threat to execute British hostage David Haines.
The Islamic State is led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and his movement consists of thousands of Sunni militants closely related to al Qa'ida. ISIL's brutal mission is to bring Muslim-inhabited regions under its control, beginning with Iraq and Syria and other territories in the Levant region.
In an attempt to foil ISIL's endeavors, the U.S. launched 120 air strikes in the last month. BBC's analysis of the recent execution video indicates that U.S. military actions are seriously damaging the Islamic State. Obama said that last month's air strikes are proving to be effective.
While the White House could not immediately confirm the video's authenticity, several U.S. government sources reported it to be genuine.
Sotloff was kidnapped Thursday near Aleppo, Syria after crossing the Syrian border from Turkey, according to USA Today.
After James Foley's beheading in a video released two weeks ago, Sotloff's mother released a video pleading for her son's release. She said Steven was just a journalist and had no control over the U.S. government. Asking that they grant amnesty, she pleaded that they release her child and not punish him for matters over which he had no control, USA Today reported.
Obama is sending Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Obama's chief counterterrorism advisor Lisa Monaco to the Middle East to work with regional partners on strategies to battle the Islamic State, reported Reuters.
