ISIL beheading incidents

On 12 August 2014, ISIL started a campaign of beheading Western and Japanese civilian hostages (announced 12 August, James Foley 19 August, Steven Sotloff 2 September, David Haines 13 September, Hervé Gourdel 24 September, Alan Henning 3 October, Peter Kassig 16 November, Haruna Yukawa sometime January 2015, Kenji Goto 30 January 2015) marketed via the internet.

Several of the videoed beheadings were conducted by Mohammed Emwazi, whom the media referred to as "Jihadi John" (“John” because of his English accent) before his identification. Sky News spoke to a defector member of Islamic State, who claimed he witnessed Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, murder Japanese hostage Kenji Goto.

Mohammed Emwazi (born Muhammad Jassim Abdulkarim Olayan al-Dhafiri; محمد جاسم عبد الكريم عليان الظفيري; 17 August 1988 – 12 November 2015) was a British Arab believed to be the person seen in several videos produced by the Islamist extremist group ISIL showing the beheadings of a number of captives in 2014 and 2015.

Beheading videos have been frequently posted by ISIL members to social media.

Beginning in 2014, a number of people from various countries were beheaded by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a radical Sunni Islamist group operating in Iraq and parts of Syria.

ISIL is widely known for its videos of beheadings and other types of executions of both soldiers and civilians, including journalists and aid workers, and its destruction of cultural heritage sites.

On 25 September, while in a reconnaissance mission, two Rafale jets conducted France's second airstrike after the jets received information about targets near them by the Coordination air operation center, a day after the beheading of the French hostage, Hervé Gourdel, by the Jund al-Khilafah terrorist group in Algeria.

Beginning in 2014, a number of people from various countries were beheaded by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a radical Sunni Islamist group operating in Iraq and parts of Syria.

The group is adept at social media, posting Internet videos of beheadings of soldiers, civilians, journalists and aid workers, and is known for its destruction of cultural heritage sites.

Sky News spoke to a defector member of Islamic State, who claimed he witnessed Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, murder Japanese hostage Kenji Goto.

In October 2014, he was captured and held hostage by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants after entering Syria in the hopes of rescuing Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa.

For further information see 2014 ISIL beheading incidents.

ISIL has released a number of propaganda/publicity videos of beheadings or shootings of captives.

In response to the beheading of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Agence France-Presse (AFP) released a statement saying that it would "no longer accept work from freelance journalists who travel to places where we ourselves would not venture" including Syria.

Beginning in 2014, a number of people from various countries were beheaded by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a radical Sunni Islamist group operating in Iraq and parts of Syria.

Beginning in 2014, a number of people from various countries were beheaded by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a radical Sunni Islamist group operating in Iraq and parts of Syria.

Beginning in 2014, a number of people from various countries were beheaded by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a radical Sunni Islamist group operating in Iraq and parts of Syria.

Beginning in 2014, a number of people from various countries were beheaded by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a radical Sunni Islamist group operating in Iraq and parts of Syria.

Beheading videos have been frequently posted by ISIL members to social media.

Political scientist Max Abrahms posited that ISIL may be using well-publicized beheadings as a means of differentiating itself from Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and identifying itself with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaeda member who beheaded Daniel Pearl.

Political scientist Max Abrahms posited that ISIL may be using well-publicized beheadings as a means of differentiating itself from Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and identifying itself with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaeda member who beheaded Daniel Pearl.

Political scientist Max Abrahms posited that ISIL may be using well-publicized beheadings as a means of differentiating itself from Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and identifying itself with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaeda member who beheaded Daniel Pearl.

Political scientist Max Abrahms posited that ISIL may be using well-publicized beheadings as a means of differentiating itself from Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and identifying itself with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaeda member who beheaded Daniel Pearl.

According to Professor Ibrahim al-Marashi, ISIL's earlier incarnations used beheadings to force foreign policy changes such as getting the Philippines to withdraw from the Iraq War.