The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, in a video released Sunday, purports to have beheaded Indianapolis native Abdul-Rahman ?Kassig.
Additionally, the video reportedly shows ISIS members beheading a dozen Syrian soldiers and ends with a militant standing over a severed head, which he claims to be that of Kassig, according to the Associated Press.
The authenticity of the video, which appeared on websites previously used by ISIS, was confirmed by the United States government hours later.
Kassig was 26.
President Obama said in a statement that Kassig “was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity.”
He denounced ISIS, saying the group “revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and ?destruction.”
Gov. Mike Pence also issued a statement Sunday condemning the act.
“Abdul-Rahman Kassig was one of us, and he was the best of us,” Pence said. “He was a lifelong Hoosier who was admired by all as a loving son, a dedicated student, an Army Ranger and a compassionate humanitarian who risked his life to render medical aid to refugees in Syria and Lebanon.”
Pence called Kassig’s death a tragedy and asked that all flags at state buildings be flown at half-staff Monday for an official period of mourning.
“The murder of Indiana’s Abdul-Rahman Kassig at the hands of ISIS terrorists is an unspeakable act of barbarism and a tragedy that will be deeply felt by all the people of our state for many years to come,” Pence said.
Kassig had served in the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, a unit focusing on special operations, and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. He was medically discharged in September 2007, according to a previous report by the Indiana Daily Student.
He returned to the Middle East with a relief organization, Special Emergency Response and Assistance. His family said he was captured Oct. 1, 2013, as he was on his way to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria.
He wrote in March 2012 before his leave of absence from Butler University that he felt compelled to be helping the Syrian people, according to an official statement from his family that was posted to their Facebook page.
“Here, in this land, I have found my calling,” he wrote. “I do not know much. Every day that I am here I have more questions and less answers, but what I do know is that I have a chance to do something here, to take a stand. To make a difference.”
During his time in captivity, friends say he converted to Islam and changed his name from Peter to Abdul-Rahman.
In the Kassig family’s statement, they acknowledge his empathy for the Syrian people and his desire to help those in need.
“Fed by a strong desire to use his life to save the lives of others, Abdul-Rahman was drawn to the camps that are filled with displaced families and to understaffed hospitals inside Syria,” they wrote. “We know he found his home amongst the Syrian people, and he hurt when they were hurting.”
In the video, the militants are identified as being in Dabiq, a town in northern Syria, according to the AP.
The militants claim his service in the armed forces justified his killing, saying he “fought against the Muslims in Iraq while serving as a soldier.”
The video shows the beheadings of about twelve men, which they identify to be Syrian military officers and pilots, dressed in blue jumpsuits. The main militant speaking to the camera has a British accent and warns the U.S. that their soldiers will suffer the same fate.
“We say to you, Obama ... You claim to have withdrawn from Iraq four years ago,” the militant said in the video. “Here you are; you have not withdrawn. Rather, you hid some of your forces behind your proxies.”
Recently, a U.S.-led coalition is targeting ISIS via airstrikes, supporting Syrian rebels, Kurdish fighters and the Iraqi military.
Unlike previous videos, the militant’s voice has been distorted. The FBI previously said it had identified the man featured in other videos, although his name has not been released.
This video, unlike the four preceding videos, did not show the person identified as Kassig being beheaded, nor did it show other Western captives or threaten to behead anyone else.
Kassig is the fifth victim to be killed in such a manner by ISIS.
American photojournalist James Foley, American-Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines and British hostage Alan Henning were all shown being beheaded in ISIS videos.
Kassig was named as the group’s next victim in the video purporting to show Henning’s death on Oct. 3.
ISIS also hold British journalist John Cantlie and a 26-year-old unnamed American woman captive, according to the AP.
