ISIS再次斬首美國人質
A black-masked executioner belonging to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant appears to murder an American aid worker in a video that surfaced on Sunday, despite pleas for his release by Muslim scholars and a leader of another Syrian jihadi group.
A man appearing to be Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old aid worker and former US soldier, is shown on the video kneeling in an orange jumpsuit as a black-clad warrior for the group, also known as Isis, stood beside him. Minutes later, a severed head described as Mr Kassig’s is shown resting on the ground in an area described as northern Syria.
在週日出現的一段視頻中，一名戴着黑色面具的“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)行刑人員似乎殺害了一名美國救助人員——儘管此前曾有穆斯林學者和一名其他敘利亞聖戰組織的首腦請求釋放這名救助人員。
視頻中遇害的似乎是現年26歲的救助人員彼得•卡西格(Peter Kassig)，他曾經是一位美軍士兵。在視頻中，他身着橙色連身衣跪在地上，身旁站着一名身穿黑衣的ISIS士兵。幾分鐘後，據稱是卡西格的頭顱被放在了地上，視頻中稱這一事件發生在敘利亞北部地區。
US officials verified the authenticity of the video, making Mr Kassig the fifth western hostage executed by Isis.
“This is Peter Edward Kassig, a US citizen of your country,” says the Isis member, speaking English with a British accent. “Peter, who fought the Muslims in Iraq while serving as soldier in the American army, doesn’t have much to say. His previous cellmates have already spoken on his behalf.”
Muslim clergy and even a leader of the rival jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra had pleaded for mercy for Mr Kassig, who had converted to Islam during his 13-month captivity and renamed himself Abdul-Rahman.
“Abdul-Rahman was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity,” said US President Barack Obama.
David Cameron, UK prime minister, condemned the purported killing and offered condolences to Mr Kassig’s family. “These beheadings show once again what a depraved organisation this is,” he said in a statement.
美國官方確認了視頻的真實性，卡西格成爲第5名被ISIS處死的西方人質。
視頻中，那名ISIS成員操着英國口音說：“這就是彼得•愛德華•卡西格，一名來自你們美國的公民。彼得曾作爲美國陸軍士兵，與伊拉克的穆斯林對抗。他現在沒什麼要說的，要說的話已經由之前的獄友說了。”
此前曾有穆斯林神職人員爲卡西格求情，爲他求情的甚至還包括敵對的伊斯蘭聖戰組織Jabhat al-Nusra的一名領導人。在被關押的13個月內，卡西格已經皈依伊斯蘭教，並將自己改名爲阿卜杜勒-拉赫曼(Abdul-Rahman)。
美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)表示：“阿卜杜勒-拉赫曼被一個恐怖組織以純粹的罪惡行徑從我們中奪走了。世界對該組織‘殘暴’的形容是恰如其分的。”
The alleged execution of Mr Kassig is shown at the end of a bloody 16-minute propaganda video that includes the beheading by knife of 16 men described as Syrian regime soldiers and pilots.
The video release comes amid a flood of high-profile media announcements by the jihadi group, including a rare statement Thursday by the group’s leader and the announcement it would launch a new currency.
英國首相戴維•卡梅倫(David Cameron)譴責了這一傳聞中的殺人行徑，並向卡西格的家人表示慰問。他在聲明中表示：“這些斬首行爲再次表明了該組織的邪惡本質。”
對卡西格的涉嫌斬首行爲是在一段長達16分鐘的血腥宣傳視頻末尾出現的，該視頻中還播出了對16名據稱是敘利亞政府軍士兵和飛行員的斬首行爲。
The media offensive is concurrent with Isis battlefield losses and stalemates in both Syria and Iraq. After making inroads in large parts of Iraq and Syria, Isis has been stymied in its efforts to take control of the Syrian city of Kobani. The jihadi group has also suffered setbacks in Iraq at the town of Jorf al Sakher, in the south of Baghdad, and in the northwestern oil refinery city of Baiji, where Iraqi troops backed by Shia militiamen and US-led warplanes have gained ground in recent days.
Chairman of the US joint chiefs, Gen Martin Dempsey, arrived in Baghdad on Saturday in an unannounced visit meant to shore up Washington’s support for Iraqi forces. These are at the frontline of efforts to halt and reverse Isis advances that begin with their June 10 seizure of the country’s second-largest city, Mosul. In addition to daily air strikes, US President Barack Obama has authorised some 3,000 troops to deploy in Iraq to train and advise Iraqi forces.
卡西格曾於2007年作爲美軍士兵在伊拉克服役，並在2012年重返中東。他在多家醫院作爲志願者從事醫療救助方面的工作，幫助那些在敘利亞受傷的人們，並建立了自己的慈善組織——“應急響應與援助特別組織(Special Emergency Response and Assistance)”。2013年10月1日，他在去敘利亞城市Dair Azzour的途中被一個聖戰組織扣押。
卡西格的父母艾德(Ed)和葆拉(Paula)在社交媒體上發表了一份聲明，請求媒體不要發佈有關這一涉嫌殺人行徑的視頻或照片。聲明表示：“我們寧願人們用文字描述我們的兒子，並緬懷他的重要工作和與親友間的深厚感情，而不是重複那種扣押人質者試圖用來操縱美國人並推進其事業的方式。”
