Peter Kassig
Peter Kassig | |
---|---|
Born | Peter Edward Kassig February 19, 1988 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
Disappeared | October 1, 2013 Deir Ezzour, Syria |
Died | c. November 16, 2014 | (aged 26)
Cause of death | Murder by beheading |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Aid worker |
Peter Edward Kassig (February 19, 1988 – c. November 16, 2014), also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, was an American aid worker who was beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Kassig was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana.[3] As a child, he was adopted by Ed, a school teacher, and Paula Kassig, a nurse.[4][5] Kassig attended North Central High School in Indianapolis, graduating in 2006. After his medical discharge from the Army in 2007, Kassig was a student at Hanover College from 2007 to 2009 and Butler University from 2011 to 2012.[6][7][8]
Career
[edit]After graduating from high school, Kassig enlisted in the United States Army, becoming a U.S. Army Ranger, serving in the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, a special operations unit, from June 2006 to September 2007. His service including training in Fort Benning, Georgia, and a four-month deployment to Iraq, from April to July 2007, when he received a medical discharge.[6][9]
Kassig next worked in Syria and Lebanon as a humanitarian worker. He aided Syrian refugees through Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA),[10] a non-governmental organization he founded in the Fall of 2012 to provide refugees in Syria and Lebanon with medical assistance, supplies, clothing, and food.[5][7][11][12] Kassig was a trained medical assistant.[13]
Kidnapping and death
[edit]On October 1, 2013, as he was on his way to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria to deliver food and medical supplies to refugees, Kassig was taken captive by ISIL.[7][14] He was kept in a cell with French journalist Nicolas Hénin and British journalist John Cantlie, and beaten regularly.[12] While in captivity, Kassig – formerly a Methodist – converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig, sometime between October and December 2013.[6][15] On October 3, 2014, his parents released a video in which they stressed that his conversion to Islam was not forced, and that his path to conversion began before he was taken captive.[6]
Kassig was named as the next victim to be beheaded in the video released by ISIL on October 3, 2014, that showed Alan Henning's beheading.[16] On October 3, his family sent a video message to the Islamic State, asking for mercy for their son.[17] Kassig's mother later tweeted an entreaty to the leader of the Islamic State over Twitter, asking to communicate with him, and Kassig's parents maintained Facebook[18] and Twitter[19] accounts.[20]
On November 16, 2014, ISIL posted a video showing "Jihadi John" standing over a severed human head.[21] The beheading itself was not shown in the video. The White House later confirmed the person killed was Kassig.[22] The Daily Telegraph and the security expert Will Geddes speculated that Kassig may have defied his captors, and refused to provide a beheading video statement.[23] In an al-Qaeda magazine interview, spokesman Adam Yahiye Gadahn condemned the beheading.[24]
On December 2, 2018, the US-led anti-ISIL Coalition killed Abu al-Umarayn, an ISIL leader involved in Kassig's beheading, in a drone strike in the Syrian Desert.[25][26]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Remembering Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig". Butler University. November 19, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ "BBC News - Abdul-Rahman Kassig killing is pure evil, says Obama". BBC News. November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
- ^ Schuster, Shawn (October 6, 2014). "Conversion to Islam Doesn't Save American Aid Worker Peter Kassig from Being Next Target of ISIS Beheading". The Gospel Herald. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ Eason, Brian; Wang, Stephanie; Adams, Michael Anthony (October 3, 2014). "Indianapolis native Peter Kassig named next ISIS target". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- Wagner, Meg (October 9, 2014). "'On our own, with no help from the government': Peter Kassig's mom claims U.S. won't help kidnapped son, tweets to ISIS for his release". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- "US hostage Kassig letter: 'I am scared to die'". BBC News. 6 October 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- Brian Eason (November 20, 2014). "Peter Kassig's birth family breaks silence". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 24, 2014.The Kassigs acknowledged on Thursday that they adopted Peter as an infant.
- ^ a b "Parents of US hostage Peter Kassig appeal to Isis for his release". The Guardian. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- "Peter Kassig's parents in video plea to ISIS: 'Show mercy'". Indianapolis Star. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014. - ^ a b c d "The back story of the former Ranger held captive by Islamic State". Military Times. October 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Indianapolis native Peter Kassig named next ISIS target". October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ "ISIS threatens ex-Hanover student with beheading". The Madison Courier. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- "ISIS threatens life of central Indiana native, former Butler student in beheading video". Fox 59. 3 October 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014. - ^ "Islamic State threatens Indiana-native Peter Kassig". KHON-TV. October 3, 2014. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- Raya Jalabi (3 October 2014). "Peter Kassig: Isis hostage threatened with death was captured on aid mission". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2014. - ^ "SERA International". Archived from the original on October 29, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
- ^ "An Army Ranger Helps Syrian Refugees". Time. January 8, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- Eason, Brian (October 11, 2014). "Mother of ISIS captive Peter Kassig offers prayers of her own". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved October 12, 2014. - ^ a b Sherlock, Ruth (October 8, 2014). "Isil hostage Peter Kassig 'is now devout Muslim who prays five times a day', says ex-captive". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ "Peter Kassig, Indiana aid worker threatened by ISIS, wrote he was 'scared to die' in June letter: parents". New York Daily News. Associated Press. October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ Crilly, Rob (October 4, 2014). "Peter Kassig: Idealistic aid worker who converted to Islam in captivity". Telegraph.co.uk. London. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ "Peter Kassig's Conversion Unlikely to Halt ISIS Headsman, Experts Say". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ "ISIS Releases Two Videos, Including Beheading of Briton Alan Henning". Vocativ. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ^ "Islamic State Siege of Kobane Intensifies". YouTube. 6 October 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- Lim, Sara (October 4, 2014). "Former Ranger discusses latest ISIS captive Peter Kassig". WTVM. Retrieved October 12, 2014. - ^ Mercy for Abdul Rahman on Facebook
- ^ Kassig Family on Twitter
- ^ McCoy, Terrence (October 9, 2014). "The agony of waiting for your son's beheading". Washington Post. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ "IS Beheads Peter Kassig, Challenges U.S. to Send Ground Troops". SITE Monitoring Service. November 16, 2014. (transcript of the video, largely based on the original English subtitles)
- ^ Hjelmgaard, Kim (November 16, 2014). "U.S. review of Islamic State video confirms American's death". USA Today. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- ^ Farmer, Ben (November 16, 2014). "Peter Kassig may have defied captors over beheading video statement". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Syria coalition says it killed IS leader linked to beheadings
- ^ US-led coalition strikes ISIS figure involved in killing American Peter Kassig
- 1988 births
- 2014 deaths
- People beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Foreign hostages in Syria
- Kidnappings by Islamists
- United States Army personnel of the Iraq War
- United States Army Rangers
- 2014 murders in Syria
- Converts to Islam from Protestantism
- American Muslims
- Filmed executions
- Beheading videos
- Filmed killings in Asia