Sad and Tragic Execution of British Hostage Alan Henning

Islamic State have purportedly executed British aid worker Alan Henning, releasing a video on Friday showing him kneeling beside a militant in a desert setting. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist groups, the one minute, 11-second long video titled "Another Message to America and its Allies" showed Mr Henning introducing himself and saying "because of our parliament's decision to attack the Islamic state, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision." The United Kingdom commenced air strikes against IS in Iraq earlier this week. The UK Foreign Office has said that it is working urgently to verify the contents of the video. Alan Henning, a 47-year-old taxi driver from Salford, England, was kidnapped by Islamic State in December, while trying to deliver aid to Syria. IS had threatened to kill Mr Henning in a video showing the killing of British aid worker David Haines last month. Alan Henning becomes the fourth Western hostage executed by IS, along with Mr Haines and American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.