UK Edges Towards Military Assault on ISIS After Beheading Video

YourNewswire

‘Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will meet leaders and foreign ministers from over 30 countries in Paris to discuss plans to fight Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The summit comes two days after the beheading of a British aid worker.

Jihadists released a video via social media on Saturday evening which shows the execution of David Haines, who had been held hostage since his abduction last year.

The masked killer in the latest video claims that Haines was killed because of Prime Minister David Cameron’s pledge to arm Kurdish forces to battle the jihadist group, according to reports.

“This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State,” the executioner said, according to liveleak.

The militants threatened to kill a second British hostage, Alan Henning, who previously worked as a taxi driver in Salford before becoming a volunteer on an aid convoy in Syria where he was captured.

The British PM vowed to “hunt down” the militants responsible for the murder of a “British hero” following an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBRA) on Sunday.

The Paris summit, to be held on Monday, is being co-hosted by French President Francois Hollande and his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Masum.

Around 40 countries, including 10 Arab states, have signed up to a coalition to help fight IS in Iraq and Syria. Representatives from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are expected to attend.

The summit is expected to focus on US plans to weaken the militant group by offering military support for Iraq, together with plans to stop foreign fighters joining the group, cutting its funding streams and trying to counter its ideology.

Iran and Syria have criticized summit organizers for not including them, despite their proximity to the conflict. Angered by the “selective guest list”, the Iranian government said the talks were “just for show”.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, said the coalition’s plans would fail without involving Iraq’s neighbor, where IS have also gained a foothold.

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