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Last updated on Monday, November 17, 2014
(SYRIA) - ISIS has released a new graphic video claiming the beheading of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an American humanitarian worker held hostage for more than a year.
The 26-year-old from Indiana, formerly known as Peter Kassig, was taken captive while doing aid work in Syria.
Kassig's parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, issued a statement early Sunday morning :
"We are aware of the news reports being circulated about our treasured son and are waiting for confirmation from the government as to the authenticity of these reports.... We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause."
In the nearly 16-minute video uploaded to social networks early Sunday morning, a black-clad militant with his face concealed stands before a severed head that he claims is that of the U.S. aid worker.
The video also showed what appeared to be the mass beheading of several captured Syrian soldiers.
It was not immediately possible to confirm that Kassig was pictured in the video. Family representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Over the last several weeks, friends and family had made several pleas to ISIS to spare Kassig's life.
Kassig had served in the U.S. Army during the Iraq war before being medically discharged.
After leaving the Army, Kassig became an emergency medical technician and traveled to Lebanon in 2012, volunteering in hospitals and treating Palestinian refugees and those fleeing Syria's civil war.
Kassig was captured last year while helping provide that medical aid to Syrians. His friends say he converted to Islam in captivity and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman.
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