The Obama administration said Tuesday that it was working to confirm the authenticity of a newly-released video that purportedly shows the killing of American freelance journalist James Foley by Islamic State militants.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the administration has seen the video. She said that if it's deemed genuine by the intelligence community, the U.S. would be "appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist."
Fox News has learned that the video, which is being taken seriously by U.S. officials, is being analyzed by a special group within the US intelligence community that specializes in media exploitation. The group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is believed to have other Americans in their custody.
The release of the video allegedly showing his death comes amid a U.S. airstrike campaign against Islamic State targets in Iraq. ISIS has declared an Islamic state in the territory it controls in Iraq and neighboring Syria, imposing its harsh interpretation of Islamic law.
Foley, 40, a freelance journalist from Rochester, New Hampshire, vanished in Syria in November 2012 while covering the Syrian civil war for GlobalPost. The car he was riding in was stopped by four militants in a contested battle zone that both Sunni rebel fighters and government forces were trying to control. He had not been heard from since.
The publication "mounted an extensive international investigation" for his whereabouts, with the search extending throughout the Middle East, along the Syria-Turkish border, in Lebanon, Jordan and other locations, GlobalPost wrote on its site Tuesday.
A website dedicated to finding Foley, "Free James Foley," did not immediately confirm his status in a post on Tuesday.
"We know that many of you are looking for confirmation or answers," the post said. "Please be patient until we all have more information, and keep the Foleys in your thoughts and prayers."
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