By Glynn Cosker
Editor, In Homeland Security
The FBI is seeking the public’s help in identifying the masked ISIS jihadist militant seen in a recent propaganda video depicting a mass execution.
An excerpt from the chilling video appeared on the FBI’s website Tuesday along with a plea for information on “individuals traveling overseas for combat.”
In the 55-minute video entitled “The Flames of War,” the masked man switches flawlessly between classical Arabic and North American English, possibly with a Midwest accent. As the man speaks, numerous men are digging a ditch in the background. The masked man says the men are Syrian soldiers based near the Syrian city of Raqqa and that they are digging their own graves. At the end of the video, the masked man and others execute the soldiers who topple into the ditch they just dug.
“We’re hoping that someone might recognize this individual and provide us with key pieces of information,” stated Michael Steinbach, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “No piece of information is too small.”
U.S. intelligence officials state that the man seen in the video appears articulate and well-dressed, meaning that he may hold a position of power or influence within the ISIS terror group. The appeal for information is part of the FBI’s ongoing initiative to identify individuals intending to travel overseas to enlist with terrorist organizations and those returning to the U.S. after engaging in terrorist acts.
If the man shown in the video is confirmed as a U.S. citizen, he’ll become the first known American jihadist to carry out a mass execution on camera, according to U.S. officials.
ISIS has released other atrocious videos in recent months showing the gruesome beheadings of American and European captives. However, the man seen comitting those murders has a British accent.
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