James Foley Beheading Video is Fake? US Officials Say It's 'Authentic'

A video allegedly showing the decapitation of James Foley, an American freelance journalist, is said to be authentic.

In a report by Fox News, two United States officials told the Associated Press on August 19 that they believe the video clip released by ISIS was genuine.

The National Security Council Press Office released a statement: "We have seen a video that purports to be the murder of U.S. citizen James Foley by ISIL. The intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity. If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We will provide more information when it is available."

CNN reported that ISIS previously threatened to end Foley's life if President Barack Obama refuses to end American military operations in Iraq.

The White House did not confirm the authenticity of the video but President Obama was briefed on Tuesday night by Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Adviser on Air Force One. The video is being investigated by an American intelligence community that focuses in media exploitation. Eric Schultz, spokesman of the White House said that the President will, "continue to receive regular updates."

Foley's alleged death happened in the midst of a United States airstrike campaign against ISIS subjects in Iraq. ISIS exercised the beheading of its captives to install an Islamic state from Syria to Iraq. Many of the executions were recorded on video by the captors and uploaded on the internet.

In the video, which had a sandy desert background, Foley read a message, believed to be scripted by his killers. He said, "I wish I had more time. I wish I could have hope for freedom to see my family once again."

In a report by International Business Times, Foley was wearing orange garments and kneeling beside an ISIS member who was wearing black with a gun hanging around his shoulder and his face covered. The video started with a scene showing President Obama authorizing the U.S. airstrikes in Iraq. Afterwards, both Foley and his murderer spoke. After the statement, he was beheaded.

Foley, 40 years old, was from Rochester, New Hampshire and disappeared in November 2012 in Syria while reporting the Syrian civil war for GlobalPost. He was abducted by four militants in a battle zone and has not been heard of since that time.