From Aditi Khanna
London, Sep 14 (PTI) The beheading of a British aid worker by the dreaded Islamic State (IS) terror group was described today by British Prime Minister David Cameron as an act of “pure evil” as he vowed to do all in his power to bring the killers to justice.
The 44-year-old aid worker David Haines was seized in Syria in 2013 and was being held by IS militants who have already killed two US journalists.
A new two-minute-27-second video titled “A Message to the Allies of America” blames Cameron for joining forces with the US, which has said it is at “war” with the jihadists and launched air strikes against them in Iraq.
The latest?video showing his killing also includes a threat to kill a second British hostage. Cameron vowed to do everything possible to find the killers.
“It is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to the family of David Haines who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude throughout this ordeal,” he said.
“We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes,” he added.
The UK Foreign Office is working to verify the video, which was released last night.
It begins with a clip of Cameron and then features a man who appears to be Haines dressed in orange overalls, kneeling in front of a masked man holding a knife.
The victim says, “My name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I hold you, David Cameron, entirely responsible for my execution”.
He says Cameron had entered into a coalition with the US against the IS “just as your predecessor Tony Blair did”.
“Unfortunately it is we the British public that in the end will pay the price for our parliament’s selfish decisions,” he said.
The militant, who appears to have a British accent, is then recorded as saying “This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State”.
Haines’s family said he would be “missed terribly”.
“David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles. His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair,” his brother Mike Haines said in a statement released through the Foreign Office. .