Peter Kassig

Peter Edward Kassig (February 19, 1988 – c. November 16, 2014), also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, was an American aid worker who was beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[1][2]

Peter Kassig
Born
Peter Edward Kassig

(1988-02-19)February 19, 1988
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
DisappearedOctober 1, 2013
Deir Ezzour, Syria
Diedc. November 16, 2014(2014-11-16) (aged 26)
Dabiq, Syria
Cause of deathMurder by beheading
NationalityAmerican
OccupationAid worker

Early life and education

Kassig was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana.[3] As a child, he was adopted by Ed, a school teacher, and Paula Kassig, a nurse.[4][5] Kassig attended North Central High School in Indianapolis, graduating in 2006. After his medical discharge in 2007, Kassig was a student at Hanover College from 2007 to 2009 and Butler University from 2011 to 2012.[6][7][8]

Career

After graduating from high school, Kassig became a U.S. Army Ranger, with an army special operations unit, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, serving from June 2006 to September 2007. His service including training in Fort Benning, Georgia, and a four-month deployment to Iraq, from April to July 2007, when he received a medical discharge.[6][9]

Kassig next worked in Syria and Lebanon as a humanitarian worker. He aided Syrian refugees through Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA),[10] a non-governmental organization he founded in the Fall of 2012 to provide refugees in Syria and Lebanon with medical assistance, supplies, clothing, and food.[5][7][11][12] Kassig was a trained medical assistant.[13]

Kidnapping and death

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.[7][14] He was kept in a cell with French journalist Nicolas Hénin and British journalist John Cantlie, and beaten regularly.[12] While in captivity, Kassig – formerly a Methodist – converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig, sometime between October and December 2013.[6][15] 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.[6]

Kassig was named as the next victim to be beheaded in the video released by ISIL on October 3, 2014, that showed Alan Henning's beheading.[16] On October 3, his family sent a video message to the Islamic State, asking for mercy for their son.[17] Kassig's mother later tweeted an entreaty to the leader of the Islamic State over Twitter, asking to communicate with him, and Kassig's parents maintain Facebook[18] and Twitter[19] accounts.[20]

On November 16, 2014, ISIL posted a video showing "Jihadi John" standing over a severed human head.[21] The beheading itself was not shown in the video. The White House later confirmed the person killed was Kassig.[22] The Daily Telegraph and the security expert Will Geddes speculated that Kassig may have defied his captors, and refused to provide a beheading video statement.[23] In an al-Qaeda magazine interview, spokesman Adam Yahiye Gadahn condemned the beheading.[24]

On December 2, 2018, The US-led anti-ISIL Coalition killed Abu al-Umarayn, an ISIL leader involved in Kassig's beheading, in a drone strike in the Syrian Desert.[25][26]

See also

References
  1. "Remembering Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig". Butler University. November 19, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  2. "BBC News - Abdul-Rahman Kassig killing is pure evil, says Obama". BBC News. November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  3. Schuster, Shawn (October 6, 2014). "Conversion to Islam Doesn't Save American Aid Worker Peter Kassig from Being Next Target of ISIS Beheading". The Gospel Herald. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  4. Eason, Brian; Wang, Stephanie; Adams, Michael Anthony (October 3, 2014). "Indianapolis native Peter Kassig named next ISIS target". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
    - Wagner, Meg (October 9, 2014). "'On our own, with no help from the government': Peter Kassig's mom claims U.S. won't help kidnapped son, tweets to ISIS for his release". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
    - "US hostage Kassig letter: 'I am scared to die'". BBC News. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
    - Brian Eason (November 20, 2014). "Peter Kassig's birth family breaks silence". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 24, 2014. The Kassigs acknowledged on Thursday that they adopted Peter as an infant.
  5. "Parents of US hostage Peter Kassig appeal to Isis for his release". The Guardian. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
    - "Peter Kassig's parents in video plea to ISIS: 'Show mercy'". Indianapolis Star. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  6. "The back story of the former Ranger held captive by Islamic State". Military Times. October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  7. "Indianapolis native Peter Kassig named next ISIS target". October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  8. "ISIS threatens ex-Hanover student with beheading". The Madison Courier. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
    - "ISIS threatens life of central Indiana native, former Butler student in beheading video". Fox 59. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  9. "Islamic State threatens Indiana-native Peter Kassig". KHON-TV. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
    - Raya Jalabi. "Peter Kassig: Isis hostage threatened with death was captured on aid mission". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  10. "SERA International". SERA International. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  11. "An Army Ranger Helps Syrian Refugees". Time. January 8, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
    - Eason, Brian (October 11, 2014). "Mother of ISIS captive Peter Kassig offers prayers of her own". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  12. Sherlock, Ruth (October 8, 2014). "Isil hostage Peter Kassig 'is now devout Muslim who prays five times a day', says ex-captive". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  13. "Peter Kassig, Indiana aid worker threatened by ISIS, wrote he was 'scared to die' in June letter: parents". New York Daily News. Associated Press. October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  14. Crilly, Rob (October 4, 2014). "Peter Kassig: Idealistic aid worker who converted to Islam in captivity". Telegraph.co.uk. London. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  15. "Peter Kassig's Conversion Unlikely to Halt ISIS Headsman, Experts Say". US News & World Report. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  16. "ISIS Releases Two Videos, Including Beheading of Briton Alan Henning". Vocativ. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  17. "Islamic State Siege of Kobane Intensifies". YouTube. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
    - Lim, Sara (October 4, 2014). "Former Ranger discusses latest ISIS captive Peter Kassig". WTVM. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  18. Mercy for Abdul Rahman on Facebook
  19. Kassig Family on Twitter
  20. McCoy, Terrence (October 9, 2014). "The agony of waiting for your son's beheading". Washington Post. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  21. "IS Beheads Peter Kassig, Challenges U.S. to Send Ground Troops". SITE Monitoring Service. November 16, 2014. (transcript of the video, largely based on the original English subtitles)
  22. Hjelmgaard, Kim (November 16, 2014). "U.S. review of Islamic State video confirms American's death". USA Today. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  23. Farmer, Ben (November 16, 2014). "Peter Kassig may have defied captors over beheading video statement". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  24. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2019-02-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. Syria coalition says it killed IS leader linked to beheadings
  26. US-led coalition strikes ISIS figure involved in killing American Peter Kassig
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