A video that apparently shows the murder of an American journalist, Steven Sotloff, released by Islamic State (Isis) militants on Tuesday, is similar in some striking respects to an earlier video that depicted the beheading of another reporter, James Foley.
Location
Sotloff’s video appear to have ben filmed in an arid and deserted area, reminiscent of the landscape in the Foley video. Elliot Higgins (@Brown_moses) – the British founder of online journalism site Bellingcat, best known for his investigative analysis on chemical weapons use in Syria – claims to have pinpointed the site of James Foley’s killing to the hills south of the Syrian city of Raqqa (Raqqa has been under Isis control for more than a year.) The landscape in both videos appears similar, however no hills are visible in the Sotloff video. Higgins claims both videos could have been filmed in the same region.
Timeline
It is unclear exactly when the video was filmed, but the killer makes a reference to recent US bombings in Iraq, including in Amerli and the Mosul Dam. Iraqi forces, aided by US strikes, retook the town of Amerli last Sunday, indicating the video could have been made in the past two days.
Sotloff’s hair and beard appear to have grown since his initial appearance in the James Foley video, so the video may have been shot at a later date.
Killing
Sotloff appears kneeling, next to his purported killer, wearing an orange jumpsuit, much like Foley was. The killer is pictured wearing the same black outfit that the killer in the James Foley footage was wearing. The killer is holding a similar hand knife in both videos. Both Sotloff and Foley were seen wearing lavalier mics on their lapels.
Sotloff’s killer has his face covered, as did Foley’s. Sotloff’s killer speaks with a markedly British accent. He sounds very similar to Foley’s British killer. In the Sotloff video, the killer starts by saying: “I’m back, Obama,” indicating Isis is intending the world to interpret this to be the same man.
Both videos start with the hostages making speeches, addressing Obama and admonishing US action against Isis - presumably pre-written by their abductors.
Like with the Foley video, Sotloff’s video begins to show his beheading, and then cuts away. It then shows footage of the body and separated head positioned on the desert floor.
Production and edits
The videos are structured very similarly. Though roughly edited, they both begin with a clip of Obama talking about foreign policy, and specifically, US action in Iraq aimed at weakening Isis positions. The clip that starts the Sotloff video is taken from Obama’s 20 August speech, in which he pledged the US will be “vigilant and we will be relentless” against Isis. This speech was made in reaction to Foley’s beheading video being made public.
Both videos have similar production: Arabic subtitles are used throughout, title cards have similar font and the various components were edited together.
At the end of the Foley video, Sotloff was shown, kneeling and held by the collar by the murderer who threatened his murder. In the Sotloff video, a British hostage is shown in the same way.
