MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) - Washington is sickened by the murder of US journalist Steven Sotloff at the hands of Islamic State (IS) militants, according to Jen Psaki, the State Department spokesperson.
“If the video [with Sotloff’s execution] is genuine, we are sickened by this brutal act taking the life of another innocent American citizen,” Psaki said.
“We will provide more information as it becomes available,” she added.
Currently, US authorities are working to determine the authenticity of the video documenting the murder of the US journalist an IS militant.
Sotloff was kidnapped in Syria in 2013. He previously appeared in the video, depicting the murder of another US journalist James Foley. According to IS militants, the deaths of the journalists come in retaliation for US airstrikes conducted against IS fighters in Iraq.
The Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), is a jihadist group that was originally composed of different Sunni insurgent groups and had close ties with al-Qaeda.
IS militants have been fighting against the government forces in the Syria before launching an offensive in Iraq in June. Later that month, the group announced the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories that had fallen under its control.
