MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - The family of James Foley, a US journalist who was killed by Islamic State (IS) militants, received an email from their son’s captors that said that Foley was going to be executed as a result of US activity in Iraq, GlobalPost reported.
“You and your citizens will pay the price of your bombings! The first of which being the blood of the American citizen, James Foley! He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!” the letter, received by the Foleys on August 12 and published by GlobalPost, said.
“You were given many chances to negotiate the release of your people via cash transactions as other governments have accepted. We have also offered prisoner exchanges to free the Muslims currently in your detention like our sister Dr Afia Sidiqqi, however you proved very quickly to us that this is NOT what you are interested in,” the message added.
IS militants demanded a ransom of 100 million euros (approximately $132 million) for Foley.
The letter was published by GlobalPost with the Foley family’s consent to provide transparency and tell Jim’s story in full.
On August 19, the IS released a video on YouTube showing a masked man beheading Foley, who was taken prisoner in northwest Syria in November 2012.
The IS also claimed to be holding another US journalist, Steven Sotloff, who appears at the end of the video, and said his life depended on US President Barack Obama’s next move.
Islamic State is a radical Sunni group that has been fighting in Syria before launching an offensive in Iraq in June. Later that month, the militants announced the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories that had fallen under its control.
