Foley killers wanted UG $132m ransom = in UG SHS Billions 336 Pentagon officials say nearly every branch of the military was involved in an attempt to free James Foley, as Mike Wooldridge reports Jihadists holding US journalist James Foley wanted a $132m (£80m) ransom for his release, his employer has said. GlobalPost CEO Philip Balboni said the Islamic State (IS) militants first demanded money last year. Mr Foley was abducted in November 2012, and a video of his beheading was released by IS earlier this week. In it, they threatened to kill another American if the US did not stop its air strikes against the group in northern Iraq. US air strikes have continued near Mosul despite the warning. The US has begun a formal criminal investigation into Mr Foleys death, with Attorney General Eric Holder saying that the US has a long memory and our reach is very wide. In the UK, police and security services are trying to identify the jihadist who appeared in footage of Mr Foleys killing. Unconfirmed reports suggest the man - who had an English accent - is from London or south-east England. Vigilant and relentless On Thursday, Mr Holder said the US pursuit of Mr Foleys killer would be determined. We have an open criminal investigation, and those who would perpetrate such acts need to understand something: this Justice Department, the Department of Defence, this nation, we have long memories and our reach is very wide, he said. US Attorney General Eric Holder vowed to pursue justice We will not forget what happened and people will be held accountable one way or the other. Earlier President Barack Obama condemned the killing and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. We will be vigilant and we will be relentless,he said. When people harm Americans, anywhere, we do whats necessary to see that justice is done. Air strikes intensify The US launched more air strikes on IS targets in Iraq on Thursday. US aircraft destroyed or damaged four IS vehicles and several bomb placements in strikes near Mosul dam, the military said. Since 8 August, the US military says it has conducted a total of 90 airstrikes across Iraq. Of those 90 strikes, 57 have been near Mosul Dam, the military said. US aircraft have targeted the area around the strategically important Mosul Dam US forces in the air are helping Kurdish forces on the ground Foreign fighters in IS There are estimated to be about 3,000 citizens from Western countries currently fighting for IS in Iraq and Syria, the Royal United Service Institute (Rusi) says. According to Rusi, the majority are believed to be from the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France and the Nordic nations. The UK government says up to 400 British nationals are fighting alongside militant groups. But these jihadists are said to be far outnumbered by volunteers from Arab nations such as Tunisia, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. A June 2014 report from the New York-based consultancy the Soufan Group suggested people from at least 81 different countries had become involved, including citizens from Australia, the US, Canada, Ireland, and Spain. Sources: Rusi, Soufan Group, BBC Analysis and Research Europe: All change on Iraq Failed rescue The US defence department has revealed that the US attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria. Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location. It was the first time the US government had acknowledged that its forces had operated in Syria since the countrys civil war began in 2011. The Pentagon statement did not specify whether the operation had intended to rescue Mr Foley. However, senior US officials - speaking on condition of anonymity - confirmed this. They added that the troops had killed several IS militants.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 19:08:11 +0000
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