Cameron: ‘We will do everything in our power’ to find Haines’ killers

Reporting from London —  The extremist group known as Islamic State released a video Saturday that purports to show the beheading of a British aid worker who was kidnapped in Syria near the Turkish border in March 2013.

The video, apparently showing the death of David Haines, 44, is similar to two others released in recent weeks that show the killing of the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was working to verify the video’s authenticity.

However, British Prime Minister David Cameron seemed to have little doubt. “The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil,” he said. “My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude.

“We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes,” he said. Cameron planned to hold an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the British response.

At the time of his capture, Haines was working for a French humanitarian aid agency, the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, or ACTED, helping people affected by the Syrian civil war. According to the BBC, he was helping to coordinate the delivery of clean water, food and tents in refugee camps near Atmeh, a town in northern Syria’s Idlib province.

An Italian colleague who was seized with him was later released, reportedly for a ransom of about $8 million.

At a NATO summit in Wales this month, Cameron reiterated Britain’s policy of not paying ransom for hostages, and he urged other NATO members to follow suit.

The video that appears to show Haines’ death is titled “A Message to the Allies of America.” It begins with scenes of Cameron speaking about Britain’s planned response to Islamic State’s actions in Syria and Iraq. The format mirrors the Foley and Sotloff videos, which began with comments by President Obama.

The image then cuts to an individual who appears to be Haines, wearing an orange outfit and kneeling on the ground in a barren, desert-like setting. Beside him is a militant who appears to be the British-accented executioner who appeared in the two previous videos.

Haines is made to read a statement directed at Cameron. “My name is David Cawthorne Haines,” he says. “I would like to declare that I hold you, David Cameron, entirely responsible for my execution.

“You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State, just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend amongst our British prime ministers who can’t find the courage to say no to the Americans.”

Britain has partnered with the U.S. in its push to thwart Islamic State, which has captured substantial territory in Iraq and Syria, with the declared goal of creating a Muslim “caliphate.” Britain has not yet committed itself to launching airstrikes against the militants. Instead, it has provided assistance to the Iraqi military and to Kurdish fighting forces, known as peshmerga, in northern Iraq.

In a statement from the White House late Saturday, Obama condemned the death, sand said, “The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve. We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world.”

The captive in the video says that the British public “will pay the price for our Parliament’s selfish decisions.”

The video then cuts to the executioner. He holds a knife and is dressed in black with his face obscured.

“This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the peshmerga against the Islamic State,” says the man, who speaks with a British accent

“Ironically, he has spent a decade of his life serving under the same air force that is responsible for the delivering those arms.”

Haines’ LinkedIn profile indicates he spent a decade in military service.

“Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha dam, will only accelerate your destruction,” the militant says, referring to recent U.S. airstrikes that helped Iraqi military forces push back the militants State from a strategically important dam on the Euphrates River.

The militant then takes the knife to his captive’s throat and the video quickly cuts to the image of a decapitated head resting on the back of a headless body.

Finally, the executioner presents another hostage, whom he also threatens to kill in response to allied policy.

Haines’ family had tried to contact his captors. In a statement released Friday, the family addressed the militants.

“We are the family of David Haines. We have sent messages to you to which we have not received a reply. We are asking those holding David to make contact with us.”

Haines had worked for 15 years with a number of aid organizations in Croatia, Libya, South Sudan and elsewhere. A native of Scotland, he was the father of two girls, ages 4 and 17. According to the BBC, he met his second wife, who is Croatian, while doing humanitarian work in the Balkans. They settled in Sisak, Croatia.

Last year, his teenage daughter in Britain posted an online message: “I miss my dad. I would do anything to have him home.”

Shortly after Islamic State threatened to kill him, his aid organization, ACTED, issued a statement. “A man’s life should never be threatened on account of his humanitarian commitment,” it said.

Werth is a special correspondent.