The Disappearance in Syria
American journalist James Foley was violently taken by ISIS gunmen on November 22, 2012, in north-west Syria near the Turkish border. He was forced into a vehicle while working for the US news outlet GlobalPost.
The Final Message and Execution
Two years after his abduction, ISIS released a horrifying propaganda video. The footage showed Foley kneeling beside a masked executioner, known as Jihadi John. He was compelled to read a script blaming the United States before being beheaded.
Moments before his death, Foley reportedly spoke to British photojournalist John Cantlie. His haunting final words were: "Great, captured on Thanksgiving Day, killed on my mom's birthday." This exchange was later published in the ISIS magazine Dabiq, almost certainly under duress.
Aftermath and Justice
Then-US President Barack Obama condemned the murder, stating the entire world was appalled and that "No just God would stand for what they did." In response, American forces launched 14 air strikes targeting ISIS near the Mosul dam in Iraq.
Foley's killer, Mohammed Emwazi (Jihadi John), was a Londoner who joined the terror group with three other Britons. He was killed in a 2015 drone strike in Raqqa, Syria, after being tracked to a kebab takeaway.
In a powerful act of courage, James's mother, Diane Foley, met one of his captors, Alexanda Kotey (Jihadi George), in 2022. Kotey is now serving a life sentence in a US supermax prison. Diane has dedicated her life to freeing hostages and sought to confront Kotey with the humanity he destroyed.
