Islamic Jihadists Kill Former Army Ranger

Islamic State terrorists have killed Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig, a former Army Ranger. The State Department confirmed Nov. 16 that a video released by the Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) that showed Kassig being beheaded was genuine. Kassig had worked in Syria as a relief volunteer when the jihadist group seized him last year. News reports indicate that Kassig may have used his Army training to disrupt his captors’ efforts to execute him. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decried Kassig’s death. “His brutal murder is one more reminder of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s ruthless barbarity,” Hagel said. “There is no starker contrast between the inhumanity of ISIL and the bright and generous spirit of the young man they murdered,” he said.