Britons ‘involved in IS murders’

A video of a masked man with a London accent standing over a dead body, thought to be that of Peter Kassig, emerged over the weekend. The video also showed the murder of at least 12 Syrian troops by unmasked Islamic State (IS) militants.

Nasser Muthana from Cardiff, who left the UK in June to join Islamic State fighters in Syria, is thought to be among the killing squad.

His father, Ahmed, said he had been shown a still image from the video which pictured a man who “resembled” his son.

Mr Muthana said he was “not quite sure” that Nasser was among those in the latest video.

“It resembles him. I was shown a picture of the video. I cannot confirm it is him, but I think it might be,” Nasser’s father said.

‘Pure evil’

Meanwhile US President Barack Obama labelled the killing of Peter Kassig “an act of pure evil”.

Kassig, a former US army ranger, converted to Islam whilst in captivity and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

“While Isil revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction, Abdul-Rahman was a humanitarian who worked to save the lives of Syrians injured and dispossessed by the Syrian conflict,” said Obama.

Kassig’s parents said they were “heartbroken” at the news of their son’s death.

“Our son, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig, has lost his life as a result of his love for the Syrian people and his desire to ease their suffering,” they said in a statement.

“Our heart also goes out to the families of the Syrians who lost their lives, along with our son.

“We are incredibly proud of our son for living his life according to his humanitarian calling. We will work every day to keep his legacy alive as best we can.”