FBI: Militant in Beheading Videos Identified

A masked ISIS militant seen wielding a knife in videos at the beheading of two Americans has been identified, FBI Director James Comey says. But Comey told reporters he would not release the person’s name or nationality. The videos released in August and this month of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff showed the masked man brandishing a knife and speaking English with a British accent. U.S. and European investigators said the principal work identifying the militant was done by British government agencies. Actual beheadings were not shown on the Foley and Sotloff videos. The videos implied the masked man carried out the killings, but the videos faded to black after he spoke and then cut to images of the beheaded bodies. Investigators used voice-recognition technology, overhead imagery, and other methods to identify the man, who is still being sought by authorities.