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The moving goodbye letter a murdered ISIS hostage wrote to his parents has been read at the trial of the terror suspect accused of masterminding his abduction. Peter Kassig wrote the final letter to his parents Ed and Paula five months before he was beheaded by Jihadi John in November 2014, and revealed that he did not believe his captors' claims that his family had given up on him. It was read at the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, Wednesday by Peter's retired teacher dad Edward Kassig, who struggled to hold back tears, as Kassig's mom Paula, a former...

An American aid worker who was killed by ISIS murderer Jihadhi John wrote of knowing that 'his time had come' before his execution by his captors Edward Kassig, the father of Peter Kassig, held back tears as he read a letter from his son, one of four Americans killed by the terror cell known as the Beatles Kassig is the latest family member of victims to give evidence at the trial 'This was a young man knowing his time had come. It was his farewell,' he said The testimony came in the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, who is...

Peter Kassig delivering supplies for Syrian refugees. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Kassig Family) __________________________________________________________________ A senior leader of the ISIS terrorist group, Abu al Umarayn, was killed in a drone strike in Syria on Dec. 2, the U.S.-led coalition has told Fox News Pentagon correspondent Lucas Tomlinson. Al Umarayn had been involved in the killing of former U.S. Army ranger Peter Kassig. Coalition spokesperson Col. Sean Ryan told Fox News, “Al Umarayn had given indications of posing an imminent threat to Coalition Forces and he was involved in the killing of American Citizen and former U.S. Army Ranger, Peter Kassig. “He...

Secretary of State John Kerry issued a warning Monday to Islamic State militants that “we are not intimidated” after another American hostage was killed. Kerry said the brutality of the Islamic State group and its potential spread worldwide was a key reason, among many, that the United States must remain deeply engaged in the Mideast. His comments came right before he headed overseas for nuclear talks with Iran as a November 24 deadline for a deal looms. …

"Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter, stayed in touch with loved ones throughout his stay in the Middle East - including his captivity - in which he spoke movingly about his work. Below are excerpts from his writings released by his family. Email from Beirut, 18 March 2012 Here, in this land, I have found my calling. I have lived a selfish life, I have run until ..."

Peter Kassig, whom ISIS claimed Sunday to have beheaded and who took the Muslim name Abdel Rahman after his conversion, was struggling to find meaning and purpose in life, which compelled him to go to the Middle East to offer medical help to Syrian refugees, especially after fighting as a U.S. soldier in Iraq and having a divorce. Kassig, 26, an Indianapolis native, was working as a humanitarian aid worker in Syria when he was captured in the ISIS stronghold Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria on Oct. 1, 2013, according to a Facebook page operated by Kassig's family. He was...

Even while the media is describing Peter Kassig, the ISIS hostage who apparently converted to Islam in captivity and was beheaded, by his American name, the Obama statement calls him by his Muslim name. “Today we offer our prayers and condolences to the parents and family of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known to us as Peter,” Obama’s statement reads. “While ISIL revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction… ISIL’s actions represent no faith, least of all the Muslim faith which Abdul-Rahman adopted as his own.” Most of the hostages had in...

Over the last few years, we've seen a dozen Western hostages convert to Islam in order to appease their captors, or in the hopes of getting better treatment. It never works, of course.  The hostages are still beaten, or killed, regardless of their profession of faith. It would seem intuitive for Islamic State hostages to convert to Islam in order to win some modicum of mercy from captives who proclaim profound religiosity. But it clearly doesn’t work, according to accounts and stories from Somalia to Syria. And why should it, since the Islamic State has proven itself willing to execute people of...

In life, Peter Kassig sacrificed to alleviate the suffering of strangers. In death, he rendered proof to a sacred creed of courage: “Surrender is not a Ranger word.” Concluding their latest video, released yesterday, a man who appears to be “Jihadi John” of the Islamic State mocks the former U.S. Army Ranger, Mr. Kassig with this taunt: “doesn’t have much to say.” Peter’s decapitated head is then shown at the feet of Jihadi John. This is the Islamic State’s holy humor. Nevertheless, ...

“ISIL's actions represent no faith, least of all the Muslim faith which Abdul-Rahman adopted as his own,” Obama wrote. “Today we grieve together, yet we also recall ...

Former Army Ranger Peter Kassig has been murdered by the barbaric savages of the Islamic State. This unfortunate turn of events was certainly not a surprise. The Islamic State doesn’t release hostages. They behead them or crucify them, based on Islamic religious doctrine. We have viewed the 16-minute propaganda video from the Islamic State. We will not link it here. The video actually depicts an orchestrated mass beheading, not just the murder of Kassig. One thing stood out in the video when we were looking at the twenty or so Jihadis doing the beheadings (see image below): There were many...

Peter Kassig Beheaded By Islamic State; 'Today We Grieve,' Obama Says By PATRICK J. MCDONNELL. U.S. aid worker Peter Kassig beheaded by Islamic State, White House confirms Peter Kassig is third U.S. citizen known to have been beheaded by Islamic State Islamic State militants have beheaded Peter Kassig, a U.S. aid worker and ex-Army Ranger who was captured last year in Syria while on a private humanitarian mission, the White House confirmed Sunday. U.S. officials authenticated a 16-minute video, released on various social networks by the militant group earlier in the day. The video also includes footage of the mass...

<p>This is perhaps the most elaborate and graphic of all the murder videos posted online by IS.</p> <p>Much of it is taken up with a recent history lesson on Iraq and Syria as seen through the eyes of the jihadists. But the latter part shows a mass beheading of Syrian prisoners in revolting, lingering detail.</p>

-snip- In the nearly 16-minute video uploaded to social networks on Sunday, a black-clad militant with his face concealed stands before a severed head that he claims is that of the U.S. aid worker.

In Iraq and Syria, 'J.V.' ISIS is running hog-wild, as the Kurdish-controlled border town of Kobani is completely surrounded on three sides, with Turks sitting on their hands -watching the Kurds get liquidated- from across the border on the fourth... And although yet-another massacre and rape-spree is expected there soon, John Kerry says that's none of our business (whatever they botch/lose will be blamed on George W Bush anyway). Oh, and regardless of pinprick airstrikes, ISIS is closing-in on Baghdad now... apparently  US military training hasn't hurt these wild eyed go-getters one bit. As for controlling the message, ISIS is trouncing us online......

The parents of a US aid worker held hostage by Islamic State militants on Sunday released photographs of their son and parts of a letter he wrote them from captivity in which he says he is scared to die but at peace with his belief. Peter Kassig, 26, was taken captive a year ago while doing humanitarian work in Syria, his family has said. He was threatened in an Islamic State video issued on Friday that showed the beheading of a British aid worker. Ed and Paula Kassig of Indianapolis, Indiana, appealed for his release on Saturday in a video...

An American aid worker threatened with beheading by the terror group ISIS is afraid to die – and saddened by the impact his imprisonment is having on his parents, he wrote in a letter his parents released Sunday. Abdul-Rahman Kassig, 26, thanked his parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, for their support in the letter, which they say was received June 2. Kassig was previously known as Peter, but his family requested that he be identified as Abdul-Rahman due to his conversion to Islam.

Peter Kassig, the latest hostage to be threatened with murder by Islamist extremists, is an American veteran who served in Iraq and whose decision to convert to Islam in captivity has so far failed to save his life. His parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, remained silent for the past year in the hope their son's life would be spared but issued a statement after the video was released. They said their son had become a Muslim during his time in captivity, changing his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig, and that they had learned from other hostages that his faith had brought...

The former U.S. Army Ranger from Indianapolis was deployed to Iraq in 2007, and he decided to aid Syrian refugees after his service. He started his own aid group called Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA). ISIS has threatened to execute former U.S. soldier Peter Kassig, who has given most of his young life to others, next in the gruesome video showing the beheading of British citizen Alan Henning. A former U.S. Army Ranger from Indianapolis who was deployed to Iraq in 2007, Kassig went to help Syrian refugees in a Lebanese hospital and, in the spirit of humanitarianism shared...