ISIS Kills Second US Hostage

ISIS has released a new video that shows the beheading of U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff and says the murder is retaliation for the Obama administration’s continued airstrikes in Iraq.  Sotloff is the second American journalist to be killed by ISIS, and his death comes two weeks after James Foley was executed in a similar video. The apparent murder of Mr. Sotloff, 31, came despite televised pleas from his mother to the leader of ISIS seeking mercy for her son, a freelance journalist who was captured in northern Syria a year ago.

In the video entitled 'A Second Message to America,' Sotloff appears in a orange jumpsuit before he is beheaded by an Islamic State fighter.

The executioner appears to be the same man who killed Foley – known as ‘Jihadi John’ - and tells the camera: 'I’m back, Obama, and I’m back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State.'

He also threatens to kill a Briton held hostage by the group next.

Although the administration said it had not yet authenticated the video, members of Mr. Sotloff’s family issued a statement saying they believed he had been killed.

MOMENTS BEFORE HIS DEATH, STEVEN SOTLOFF'S FINAL WORDS:

A Second Message to America:

'I am Steven Joel Sotloff. I’m sure you know exactly who I am by now and why I am appearing before you. And now this is the time for my message:

'Obama, your foreign policy of intervention in Iraq was supposed to be the preservation of American lives and interests, so why is that I am paying the price of your interference with my life? Am I not an American citizen? We’ve spent billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars and we’ve lost thousands of our troops in our previous fighting against the Islamic State, so what are the people’s interests in reigniting war?

'From what little I know about foreign policy, I remember a time when you could not win an election without promising to bring our troops back from Iraq and Afghanistan and to close down Guantanamo. Here you are now, Obama, nearing the end of your term, and having achieved none of the above and deceivingly marching us the American people in the blazing fire.'