The Islamic State has released video that purports to show the beheading of British hostage David Haines, the man who appeared at the end of the last execution video that the terror group released.
VPC

LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron held an emergency meeting Sunday of his military and security chiefs after the beheading of a British aid worker, calling the Islamic State militants “monsters.”

Cameron said the group that released a video of the killing poses a “massive” security threat that cannot be ignored.

“They are not Muslims, they are monsters,” he said after hailing the slain David Haines as a “British hero.”

He added: “Step by step, we must drive back, dismantle and ultimately destroy (the Islamic State) and what it stands for. We will do so in a calm, deliberate way — but with an iron determination.”

Cameron earlier described the beheading as an “act of pure evil” and vowed to “hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice.”

After Sunday’s meeting, Cameron did not announce new military measures. He did say that British forces would continue offering logistical help to the U.S. and that counterterrorism efforts will increase because the Islamic State group is planning attacks against Britain.

Haines’ killing comes as the United States has stepped up a campaign to enlist allies to combat the Islamic State, also known by the acronyms ISIL or ISIS, which is operating across large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Diplomats from 17 countries meet Monday in Paris for a conference on how to combat the Islamic State group in Iraq.

In Washington, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough signaled that the State Department in coming days will name allies pledging ground troops to fight the militants, something the U.S. does not plan to do. McDonough also said U.S. personnel will train and equip Iraqi forces and moderate Syrian rebels to combat the extremist group.

Several Arab countries have offered to carry out airstrikes against the militants, the Associated Press reported Sunday, citing anonymous officials traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry.

Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it saw no reason to doubt the authenticity of the video released Saturday showing Haines. It resembles earlier videos of the beheadings of two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

The latest video shows Haines, 44, kneeling beside a masked militant who speaks in British-accented English.

“I don’t think (this video) will change things,” said Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based defense think tank. “It might, however, serve to heighten Britons’ horror and resolve to deal with this problem,” he said.

“The fundamental Western strategy to deal with ISIL is not being affected by these grim videos, as the political calculus at this point must be that the group is going to continue these heinous acts notwithstanding any shift,” said Pantucci.

The 2½-minute video is titled “A Message to the Allies of America” and shows Haines delivering a direct message to Cameron.

“My name is David Cawthorne Haines,” the message starts. “I would like to declare that I hold you David Cameron entirely responsible for my execution. You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend against our British prime ministers who can’t find the courage to say no to the Americans.”

The man seen alongside Haines in the video reiterates the captive’s message, saying that the U.K. bears responsibility for partnering with the U.S. against the Islamic State. The executioner appears to be the same man in the videos of Foley and Sotloff.

That man has yet to be publicly identified, leading the British press to dub him “Jihadi John.”

The video also contains a threat to Alan Henning, another British national being held by the extremist group.

The White House released a statement Saturday condemning Haines’ killing.

“We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world,” the statement said.

Haines, a father of two who grew up in Perth, Scotland, but who settled in Croatia after working for several humanitarian agencies there and in Libya and South Sudan, was abducted last year in Syria.

His brother, Mike, released a statement mourning his family’s loss.

“David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles. His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair,” Mike Haines said.

Contributing: The Associated Press