# Killing of captives by the Islamic State

Soldiers and civilians (such as captives and "criminals") have been executed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) by beheading, immolation, shooting, and other means. ISIL has released a number of propaganda/publicity videos of beheadings or shootings of captives. Houtat Sulūk is reported to be a mass grave.

## List of notable Islamic State executions

| Victim(s) | Sex(s) | Nationality(s) of victim(s) | Date of execution (approx.) | Place of execution (approx.) | Method(s) | Reason(s) |
| 39 Indian migrant workers | ? | Indian | June 2014 | Mosul, Iraq | Unknown execution method | Failure to pay Ransom |
| 1,095–1,700 Iraqi soldiers | M | Iraqi | June 12, 2014 | Tikrit, Iraq | Shooting | Sectarian violence against Shi’ite Muslims in Iraq |
| 200 Syrian soldiers | M | Syrian | July 16–26, 2014 | Palmyra, Syria | Shooting | Revenge against the Syrian regime |
| 75 Syrian soldiers | M | Syrian | July 25, 2014 | Raqqa, Syria | Beheading | Holding position in Raqqa under allegiance to Bashar al-Assad |
| James Wright Foley | M | American | August 19, 2014 | Raqqa, Syria | Beheading | Retaliation for the American airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq |
| 250 Syrian soldiers | M | Syrian | August 27–28, 2014 | Tabqa, Syria | Shooting | Revenge against the Syrian regime |
| Sgt. Ali al-Sayyed | M | Lebanese | August 28, 2014 | Arsal, Lebanon | Beheading | To send a message to Lebanon |
| Unnamed Peshmerga soldier | M | Kurdish | August 29, 2014 | Mosul, Iraq | Beheading | To send a message to the Peshmerga |
| Steven Joel Sotloff | M | Israeli-American | September 2, 2014 | Badiya, Syria | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom and continued American airstrikes against the Islamic State |
| Sol. Abbas Medlej | M | Lebanese | September 6, 2014 | Arsal, Lebanon | Beheading and shooting | Attempting to escape from Islamic State captors |
| David Cawthorne Haines | M | British | September 13, 2014 | Badiya, Syria | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom and British airstrikes against the Islamic State |
| Samira Saleh Ali al-Naimi | F | Iraqi | September 22, 2014 | Mosul, Iraq | Shooting | Criticizing the destruction of mosques and ancient artifacts, as well as being an “apostate” |
| Hervé Gourdel | M | French | September 24, 2014 | Tikjda, Algeria | Beheading | French airstrikes against the Islamic State |
| Alan Henning | M | British | October 3, 2014 | Badiya, Syria | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom and the continued British airstrikes against the Islamic State |
| Sergei Gorbunov | M | Russian | October 25, 2014 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Failure to pay Ransom |
| Maj. Peter Edward Abdul-Rahman Kassig | M | American | November 16, 2014 | Dabiq, Syria | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom and the beginning of American airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria |
| 21 Syrian soldiers | M | Syrian | November 16, 2014 | Dabiq, Syria | Beheading | To send a message to the Syrian regime and Western nations |
| 100 foreign Islamic State fighters | ? | ? | December 2014 | Raqqa, Syria | Beheading | Deserting from the Islamic State and trying to escape Raqqa |
| 1st LT. Muath Safi Yousef al-Kasasbeh | M | Jordanian | January 3, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Immolation | Failure to pay Ransom and in retaliation for Jordanian involvement in “Crusader” airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria |
| Mamayev Jambulat Yesenjenovich | M | Kazakh | January 13, 2015 | Damascus, Syria | Shooting | Spying for Russian intelligence |
| Ashimov Sergey Nikolayevich | M | Kazakh | January 13, 2015 | Damascus, Syria | Shooting | Spying for Russian intelligence |
| Haruna Yukawa | M | Japanese | January 24, 2015 | Deir ez-Zor, Syria | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom and to send a message to Japan |
| Sol. Hujam Surchi | M | Kurdish | January 28, 2015 | Mosul, Iraq | Beheading | To send a message to the Peshmerga and Masoud Barzani |
| Kenji Goto | M | Japanese | January 31, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom and to send another message to Japan |
| 10 alleged Egyptian spies | M | Egyptian | February 2015 | Sinai, Egypt | Beheading | Alleged spying for the Mossad and the Egyptian army |
| Kayla Jean Mueller | F | American | February 6, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Unknown execution method, Islamic State claimed that she had been killed in a Jordanian airstrike (proven wrong) | Failure to pay Ransom |
| 1 Ghanaian and 20 Coptic Christians | M | Coptic Egyptian and Ghanaian | February 15, 2015 | Tripolitania, Libya | Beheading | To send a message to the Christians and “Crusaders”, also to avenge Camelia Shehata Zakher |
| Mohamed Sa’id Ismail Musallam | M | 48-Palestinian | March 10, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Alleged spying for Israel |
| 3 Eritrean and 30 Ethiopian Christians | M | Ethiopian and Eritrean | April 19, 2015 | Cyrenaica, Libya and Fezzan, Libya | Beheading and shooting | To send another message to the Christians and “Crusaders”, also to avenge Muslims who have been killed in U.S. led coalition airstrikes |
| Mahmud Abdul-Amir al-Khalaf | M | Iraqi | June 17, 2015 | near the Tigris, Iraq | Crucifixion and amputation | Spying for the Peshmerga |
| 16 Iraqi spies | M | Iraqi | June 23, 2015 | Mosul, Iraq | RPG blast, drowning and detonating cord | Spying and giving away information about the Islamic State |
| Faisal Hussain al-Habib | M | Syrian | July 6, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Participating in the activist group “Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently” |
| Bashir Abduladhim | M | Syrian | July 6, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Participating in the activist group “Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently” |
| Rayif al-Abd | M | Syrian | July 16, 2015 | Homs, Syria | Beheading | Fighting against the Islamic State under the Syrian army |
| 10 Afghan spies | M | Afghan | August 9, 2015 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan | IED | Spying for the Taliban |
| Tomislav Salopek | M | Croatian | August 12, 2015 | Sinai, Egypt | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom |
| Mohamed al-Mousa al-Jasim | M | Syrian | August 15, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Participating in the activist group “Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently” |
| Abdallah al-Khalaf al-Humaid al-Aydan | M | Syrian | August 15, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Participating in the activist group “Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently” |
| Raqan Hud Awad | M | Syrian | August 15, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Participating in the activist group “Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently” |
| Khaled Mohamad al-Asaad | M | Syrian | August 18, 2015 | Palmyra, Syria | Beheading | Protecting “idols” and being an “apostate” |
| 4 Iraqi militiamen | M | Iraqi | August 30, 2015 | Anbar, Iraq | Immolation | Revenge for Iraqi Soldiers and militiamen burning the corpses of Sunni civilians |
| 7 Peshmerga soldiers | M | Kurdish | September 30, 2015 | Mosul, Iraq | Beheading | To send a message to the Peshmerga and the family members of the beheaded captives |
| Muhammad Tayib Ali al-Amri | M | Libyan | October 16, 2015 | Cyrenaica, Libya | Shooting | Spying for a “Western Awakening proxy” |
| Rushdi Ageela Omran al-Masouri | M | Libyan | October 16, 2015 | Cyrenaica, Libya | Dragging | Spying for a “Western Awakening proxy” |
| Fadi Ammar Zidan | M | Syrian | October 24, 2015 | Homs, Syria | Crushing | Revenge for Fadi running over the corpses of Islamic State fighters with a tank |
| Fan Jinghui | M | Chinese | November 18, 2015 | Deir ez-Zor, Syria | Shooting | Failure to pay Ransom |
| Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad | M | Norwegian | November 18, 2015 | Deir ez-Zor, Syria | Shooting | Failure to pay Ransom |
| Khasiev Magomed | M | Russian | December 2, 2015 | Raqqa, Syria | Beheading | Alleged spying for Russia |
| 25 Houthi soldiers | M | Yemeni | December 4, 2015 | Aden Abyan, Yemen | Beheading and various explosives | Revenge for Houthi attacks against the Islamic State |
| 6 Syrian spies | M | Syrian | December 4, 2015 | Deir ez-Zor, Syria | Beheading and shooting | Alleged spying for Israel and America |
| Muadh Fayumi | M | Syrian | December 11, 2015 | Damascus, Syria | IED | Being part of a “Western Awakening proxy” |
| Firas Qataf | M | Syrian | December 11, 2015 | Damascus, Syria | IED | Being part of a “Western Awakening proxy” |
| Javatov Migitin Amirbekovich | M | Dagestani Russian | December 24, 2015 | Dagestan, Russia | Shooting | Being a governor of Kakamakhi |
| Ibakov Shamil Bagauddinovich | M | Dagestani Russian | December 24, 2015 | Dagestan, Russia | Shooting | Reporting an Islamic State member to authorities |
| 5 Syrian collaborators with Britain | M | Syrian | January 3, 2016 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Collaborating with Britain |
| 6 Syrian collaborators with France | M | Syrian | January 24, 2016 | Badiya, Syria | Beheading and shooting | Collaborating with France |
| Karim Hussein | M | Iraqi | January 30, 2016 | Baiji, Iraq | Beheading | Being part of the Iraqi Shi’ite militia “Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq” and fighting against the Islamic State alongside other Iraqi militias |
| 5 Iraqi collaborators with France | M | Iraqi | January 30, 2016 | Mosul, Iraq | Shooting | Collaborating with and spying for France |
| 4 Peshmerga soldiers | M | Kurdish | February 2, 2016 | Kirkuk, Iraq | Beheading | To send a message to the Peshmerga and America |
| Muhammad Abdul-Aziz Tabsho | M | Syrian | February 5, 2016 | Aleppo, Syria | Beheading | Being an Imam of a “Western Awakening proxy” |
| 300+ Iraqi soldiers, law enforcement officers and civil activists | ? | Iraqi | February 8, 2016 | Mosul, Iraq | Firing squad | To send a message to Iraq |
| 4 Syrian collaborators with America | M | Syrian | February 11, 2016 | Raqqa, Syria | Car bomb | Collaborating with America |
| 8 Iraqi collaborators | M | Iraqi | April 16, 2016 | Fallujah, Iraq | Beheading, shooting and detonating cord | Collaborating with Iraqi police and security forces, as well as spying |
| John Bramwell Ridsdel | M | British-Canadian | April 25, 2016 | Sulu, Philippines | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom |
| Abdul-Hadi Eisa Al-Salem | M | Syrian | May 3, 2016 | Al-Tabqah, Syria | Stabbing, shooting and crucifixion | Alleged collaboration with coalition forces |
| 3 Houthi soldiers | M | Yemeni | May 19, 2016 | Aden Abyan, Yemen | Beheading, shooting and stoning | To send a message to the Houthis and other factions in Yemen that are fighting against the Islamic State |
| Robert Ward Hall | M | Canadian | June 13, 2016 | Sulu, Philippines | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom |
| 5 Syrian collaborators | M | Syrian | June 24, 2016 | Deir ez-Zor, Syria | Beheading, stabbing, strangulation and various explosives | Collaborating with the Western coalition |
| 5 Syrian collaborators Euphrates | M | Syrian | June 28, 2016 | Abu Kamal, Syria | Beheading | Receiving help and training with American forces under the allegiance of “Western Awakening proxies” |
| Abdullah Aarf Abdul-Wahab Al-Jaheshi | M | Iraqi | July 20, 2016 | Mosul, Iraq | Beheading | Collaborating with and spying for France |
| Muhannad Mahmud Junaidan Khalaf Al-Sabawi | M | Iraqi | July 20, 2016 | Mosul, Iraq | Beheading | Collaborating with and spying for France |
| Samir Al-Hamad Majid | M | Iraqi | August 14, 2016 | Diyala, Iraq | Shooting | To send a message to Iraq |
| 6 Iraqi captives | M | Iraqi | August 15, 2016 | Mosul, Iraq | Beheading and shooting | Graffiting anti Islamic State slogans and spying |
| 15 Coalition collaborators | M | Syrian and Kurdish | August 25, 2016 | Raqqa, Syria | Beheading and shooting | Participating in the coalition against the Islamic State |
| Slaughterhouse massacre of 16 Syrians | M | Syrian | September 12, 2016 | Deir ez-Zor, Syria | Exsanguination | Collaborating with the Western coalition |
| FCmdr. Ahmad Musa al-Hussein | M | Syrian | September 19, 2016 | Aleppo, Syria | Beheading and shooting with a mounted machine gun | Being part of a “Western Awakening proxy” |
| 10 Iraqi captives | M | Iraqi | October 13, 2016 | Mosul, Iraq | Shooting | Graffiting anti Islamic State slogans and collaborating against the Islamic State |
| 4 Syrian spies | M | Syrian | October 25, 2016 | Raqqa, Syria | Crucifixion, shooting and stabbing | Spying for the Western coalition |
| 300 Iraqi civilians | ? | Iraqi | October 28-November 7, 2016 | Mosul, Iraq | Unknown execution method | Refusing to join and fight for the Islamic State |
| 3 Syrian collaborators | M | Syrian | November 1, 2016 | Abu Kamal, Syria | Beheading and shooting with a vehicle mounted anti-aircraft gun | Being part of a “Western Awakening proxy” |
| 2 Iraqi spies | M | Iraqi | November 14, 2016 | near the Euphrates, Iraq | Shooting with a machine gun | Spying for Iraq |
| 5 Syrian collaborators Damascus | M | Syrian | December 6, 2016 | Damascus, Syria | Beheading | Training with American and Jordanian forces under the allegiance of “Western Awakening proxies” |
| Pvt. Sefter Taş | M | Turkish | December 22, 2016 | Aleppo, Syria | Immolation | Turkish airstrikes against the Islamic State |
| Pvt. Fethi Şahin | M | Turkish | December 22, 2016 | Aleppo, Syria | Immolation | Turkish airstrikes against the Islamic State |
| 6 Syrian combatants | M | Syrian | December 28, 2016 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting and throwing | Being part of or spying for multiple factions that were fighting against the Islamic State in Syria |
| ‘Umar Tariq Mahmud Mustafa at-Tai | M | Iraqi | January 4, 2017 | Mosul, Iraq | Beheading | Collaborating with and giving away information about the Islamic State to the Chief of Staff in the Iraqi army during the Battle of Mosul |
| Adnan Hadi Muhammad ‘Ali “Seymour” | M | Iraqi | January 4, 2017 | Mosul, Iraq | Drowning | Collaborating with and giving away information about the Islamic State to Iraqi soldiers, militiamen and coalition participants during the Battle of Mosul on an Iraqi radio broadcast podcast, causing 10-11 people to be killed in an American airstrike and also to punish Adnan for the drinking of liquor that some Iraqi soldiers and militiamen partake in and have caused others in Mosul to partake in as well |
| 3 PKK spies | M | Syrian and Iraqi | January 7, 2017 | Deir ez-Zor, Syria | Beheading and shooting | Spying for the PKK |
| 2 PKK spies | M | Syrian | January 24, 2017 | Raqqa, Syria | Exsanguination | Spying for the PKK during the Battle of Raqqa |
| Jürgen Gustav Kantner | M | German | February 27, 2017 | Sulu, Philippines | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom |
| 1LT. Abbas Yassin al-Daraji “Abu Bakir al-Samarayi” | M | Iraqi | March 28, 2017 | Ar-Rutba, Iraq | Beheading | To send a message to Iraq |
| 4 PKK soldiers | M | Syrian | April 19, 2017 | Raqqa, Syria | Beheading | Fighting against the Islamic State during the Battle of Raqqa |
| Cpt. Petrenko Evgeny Viktorovich | M | Russian | May 8, 2017 | Badiya, Syria | Beheading | Being a Russian intelligence officer |
| 7 Syrian collaborators | M | Syrian | June 18, 2017 | near the Jordan–Syria border, Syria | Beheading and firing squad | Collaborating with America and Jordan |
| Isa Ali Kinash | M | Syrian | July 29, 2017 | Raqqa, Syria | Shooting | Betraying the Islamic State and collaborating with the YPG during the Battle of Raqqa |
| Mohsen Hojaji | M | Iranian | August 10, 2017 | Iraqi-Syrian border, Iraq | Beheading | To send a message to Iran, “Rafidhis” (Shi’ite Muslims) and “Majusis” (Zoroastrians) |
| Umar Gul | M | Afghan | November 29, 2017 | Jalalabad, Afghanistan | Amputation and beheading | Alleged spying for American and Pakistani intelligence agencies |
| Cpt. Raad Khalaf al-Hamadi | M | Iraqi | December 22, 2017 | Anbar, Iraq | Shooting with a machine gun | To send a message to Iraq |
| Sol. Musaib Jasim al-Mitiri | M | Iraqi | December 22, 2017 | Anbar, Iraq | Shooting with a machine gun | To send a message to Iraq |
| Musa Abu Zammat | M | Egyptian | January 3, 2018 | Sinai, Egypt | Shooting | Smuggling weapons from Rafah to Gaza, as well as collaborating with Hamas and the al-Qassam Brigades |
| Muhannad Touqan Abu Ammar | M | Syrian Druze | August 2, 2018 | As-Suwayda, Syria | Beheading | Failure to pay Ransom |
| Louisa Vesterager Jespersen | F | Danish | December 17, 2018 | Toubkal, Morocco | Beheading and stabbing | Revenge for the Battle of Hajin |
| Maren Ueland | F | Norwegian | December 17, 2018 | Toubkal, Morocco | Beheading and stabbing | Revenge for the Battle of Hajin |
| Sgt. Christopher Omogbai | M | Nigerian | December 8, 2019 | Borno, Nigeria | Shooting | To send a message to Nigerian soldiers and law enforcement |
| Sgt. Yakubu Bandi | M | Nigerian | December 8, 2019 | Borno, Nigeria | Shooting | To send a message to Nigerian soldiers and law enforcement |
| Sgt. Yusuf Sulaiman | M | Nigerian | December 8, 2019 | Borno, Nigeria | Shooting | To send a message to Nigerian soldiers and law enforcement |
| 11 Nigerian Christians | M | Nigerian | December 26, 2019 | Borno, Nigeria | Beheading and shooting | Revenge for the deaths of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir, also to send a message to Christians |
| Unnamed Nigerian Christian | M | Nigerian | January 18, 2020 | Borno, Nigeria | Shooting | To send a message to Nigerian Christians |
| Sol. Dandulum Sanjaman Daniel | M | Chadian | April 25, 2020 | Mayo-Kebbi, Chad | Shooting | To send a message to Chad |
| Insp. Johanah James | M | Nigerian | June 11, 2020 | Borno, Nigeria | Shooting | To send a message to Nigeria |
| LCpl. Emannuel Oscar | M | Nigerian | June 11, 2020 | Borno, Nigeria | Shooting | To send a message to Nigeria |
| 5 Nigerian Christians | M | Nigerian | December 29, 2020 | Borno, Nigeria | Shooting | To send a message to Nigerian Christians |
| 11 Hazara Shi’ites | M | Pakistani Hazara | January 3, 2021 | Machh, Pakistan | Exsanguination | To persecute Hazaras and Shi’ite Muslims |
| Nabil Habashi Salama | M | Coptic Egyptian | April 17, 2021 | Sinai, Egypt | Shooting | To send a message and warning to Coptic Christians in Egypt |
| 2 Egyptian tribal fighters | M | Egyptian | April 17, 2021 | Sinai, Egypt | Shooting | Fighting alongside the Egyptian army |
| 20 Nigerian Christians | M | Nigerian | May 10, 2022 | Borno, Nigeria | Beheading and shooting | Revenge for the deaths of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi and Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi, also to send a message to Christians |
| Sol. Mohammud Abdullahi | M | Nigerien | July 10, 2022 | Diffa, Niger | Shooting | To send a message to the people of Diffa and Nigerien soldiers |
| 4 Cameroonian Christians | M | Cameroonian | January 9, 2024 | Bargaram, Cameroon | Shooting | Revenge for the Israeli assault and airstrikes in Gaza that started in 2023, also to send a message to Christians and Jews |
| Sol. Kali | M | Nigerian | April 16, 2024 | Borno, Nigeria | Shooting | To send a message to Nigeria |

## Military captives

By June 2014, according to United Nations reports, ISIL had killed hundreds of prisoners of war and over 1,000 civilians. Specific incidents involving the killing of military prisoners including the mass killing of up to 250 Syrian Army soldiers near Tabqa Air base, and killings that took place in Camp Speicher (1,095–1,700 Iraqi soldiers shot and "thousands" more "missing") and the Shaer gas field (200 Syrian soldiers shot). ISIL was reported to have beheaded about 100 foreign fighters as deserters who tried to leave Raqqa.
* Muath al-Kasasbeh, a Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot whose F-16 fighter aircraft crashed near Raqqa, Syria, on 24 December 2014 during the international military intervention against ISIL, was captured by ISIL, and on 3 February 2015 released a video showing al-Kasasbeh being burned to death while trapped inside a cage.
* On 22 December 2016, ISIL has released a video showing two captured Turkish soldiers being burned alive.

## Civilian captives

Among the known killings of religious and minority group civilians carried out by ISIL are those in the villages and towns of Qiiniyeh (70–90 Yazidis killed), Hardan (60 Yazidis killed), Sinjar (200–500 Yazidis killed), Ramadi Jabal (60–70 Yazidis killed), Dohula (50 Yazidis killed), Khana Sor (100 Yazidis killed), Hardan (250–300 Yazidis killed), al-Shamal (dozens of Yazidis killed), Kocho (400 Yazidis killed and 1,000 abducted), Jadala (14 Yadizis killed) and Beshir (700 Shia Turkmen killed), and others committed near Mosul (670 Shia inmates of the Badush prison killed), and in Tal Afar prison, Iraq (205 Yazidis killed for refusing conversion).

### Journalists

ISIL has tortured and murdered both local and foreign journalists, creating what Reporters Without Borders calls "news blackholes" in areas controlled by ISIL. ISIL fighters have reportedly been given written directions to kill or capture journalists.
* James Wright Foley (October 18, 1973 – c. August 19, 2014) was an American freelance journalist and photojournalist of the Syrian Civil War when he was abducted on November 22, 2012, in northwestern Syria. Foley was the first American citizen to be killed by "Jihadi John". James Foley's beheading by ISIL received wide condemnation in the United States.
* Steven Joel Sotloff (May 11, 1983 – c. September 2, 2014) was an Israeli-American journalist for Time magazine and The Jerusalem Post, although the Post disavowed any relationship once Sotloff's life was threatened. In 2013, he was kidnapped in Aleppo, Syria, and was held captive by Islamic militants. On September 2, 2014, a video was released purporting to show "Jihadi John" beheading Steven Sotloff.
* On January 8, 2015, ISIL members in Libya claimed to have executed Tunisian journalists Sofiene Chourabi and Nadhir Ktari who disappeared in September 2014.
* In January 2015 ISIL threatened to kill two Japanese hostages, Kenji Goto Jogo, a journalist, and Haruna Yukawa (湯川遥菜), a military company operator, unless a ransom of 200 million USD is paid. By the end of the month, the group released another video of the beheading of Goto, in which Jihadi John proclaimed to Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe "because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin."

### Aid workers

ISIL has also murdered aid workers.
* David Haines (May 9, 1970 – c. September 13, 2014) was abducted in March 2013 by ISIL while working in Syria for the humanitarian aid group Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development assessing the Atmeh refugee camp near the Turkish border and the Syrian province of Idlib. A video of the lead-up and aftermath of David Haines' beheading, entitled "A Message to the Allies of America", was released by ISIL on September 13, 2014.
* Hervé Gourdel (September 12, 1959 – c. September 24, 2014) was a French citizen and mountaineering guide. Gourdel was kidnapped on September 21, 2014, while hiking in the Djurdjura National Park in Algeria. The following day, an at the time recently formed ISIL affiliate in Algeria, Jund al-Khilafah, released a video which showed Hervé Gourdel being held hostage. The group threatened to kill Gourdel if the French government continued to conduct airstrikes against ISIL. On September 24, they carried through on threats to behead him after a 24-hour deadline passed. The beheading was captured in a video titled "A Message of Blood for French Government."
* Alan Henning (August 15, 1967 – c. October 3, 2014) was a British humanitarian aid worker. Henning was the fourth Western hostage killed by ISIL. Henning was captured during ISIL's occupation of the Syrian city of Al-Dana in December 2013, where he was helping with humanitarian relief. The British Foreign Office withheld news of Henning's capture while they attempted to negotiate his release. Alan Henning was shown at the end of David Haines's beheading video, released on September 13, 2014, and referred to by "Jihadi John" as the next victim. A video of Henning's beheading was released by ISIL on October 3, 2014.
* Peter Edward Kassig (February 19, 1988 – 2014), also known by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig which he assumed in captivity, was 26 years old at the time he was beheaded. He was the adopted child of Ed, a school teacher, and Paula Kassig, a nurse. 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. While in captivity, Kassig – formerly a Methodist – converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig, sometime between October and December 2013. 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. On November 16, 2014, ISIL posted a video showing "Jihadi John" standing over a severed human head. The beheading itself was not shown in the video. The White House later confirmed the person killed was Kassig.
* ISIL claimed that U.S. hostage Kayla Mueller was killed in the Jordanian airstrike on Raqqa on 5 February 2015. However, some experts believe that she may have been killed before the date of the video's release, in order for ISIL to try to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Jordan by blaming her death on the Jordanian airstrikes. Shortly thereafter President Obama confirmed the death of Mueller by ISIL.
* On November 19, 2015, Chinese national Fan Jinghui (樊京辉) and Norwegian national Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad were murdered by being shot by ISIL, and pictures were released in ISIL's magazine Dabiq.