This undated family handout photo shows British man Alan Henning, who was held hostage by the Islamic State group. An Internet video released Friday purports to show an Islamic State group fighter beheading British hostage Alan Henning and threatening yet another American captive, the fourth such killing carried out by the extremist group now targeted in U.S.-led airstrikes. The video mirrored other beheading videos shot by the Islamic State group, which now holds territory along the border of Syria and Iraq. It ended with an Islamic State fighter threatening a man they identified as an American. (AP Photo/PA Wire)

CAIRO (AP) — An Internet video released Friday purports to show an Islamic State group fighter beheading British hostage Alan Henning, the fourth such killing carried out by the extremist group now targeted in U.S.-led airstrikes.

The video mirrored other beheading videos shot by the Islamic State group, which now holds territory along the border of Syria and Iraq, and ended with a militant threatening a man they identified as an American named Peter Kassig.

"Obama, you have started your aerial bombardment of Shams (Syria), which keeps on striking our people, so it is only right that we continue to strike the neck of your people," the masked militant in the video said.

National Security Council Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden confirmed that Kassig was being held by Islamic State militants, in a statement issued Friday evening.

"At this point we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the video released earlier today. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal -- military, diplomatic, law enforcement and intelligence - to try to bring Peter home to his family," Hayden said.

The Associated Press could not immediately verify the video's authenticity, though it was released in the same manner as other Islamic State group videos and the masked militant sounded similar to the one who carried out the other slayings.

In a statement, the British Foreign Office said it was working to verify the video.

"If true, this is a further disgusting murder," the statement read. "We are offering the family every support possible; they ask to be left alone at this time."

Britain has been supporting U.S. military efforts against the Islamic State group by using British forces to help with logistics and intelligence gathering, as well as recently taking part in airstrikes in Iraq. The Internet video released Friday begins with a news clip announcing British strikes against the Islamic State group.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Henning's apparent slaying showed "how barbaric and repulsive these terrorists are."

"Alan had gone to Syria to help get aid to people of all faiths in their hour of need," Cameron said in a statement. "The fact that he was taken hostage when trying to help others and now murdered demonstrates that there are no limits to the depravity of these ... terrorists.

"We will do all we can to hunt down these murderers and bring them to justice."

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Peter Kassig delivering aid in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. May 2013. (Kassig family photo)

President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco, said the U.S. had seen the video and was evaluating it.

Later, Obama said the United States strongly condemned Henning's "brutal murder." He said the U.S., along with Britain and other allies, will "work to bring the perpetrators of Alan's murder" to justice and will continue to "taking decisive action to degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State group.

French President Francois Hollande said he is "outraged by the heinous crime."

"This crime like previous ones will not be unpunished. France will continue to lend support to the people and authorities of Iraq in their fight against terrorism," Hollande said in a statement.

This is the fourth such video released by the Islamic State group. The full beheadings are not shown in the videos, but the British-accented, English-speaking militant holds a long knife and appears to begin cutting his victims, who include American reporter James Foley, American-Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines and now Henning.

FBI Director James Comey has said American officials believe they know the identity of the masked militant, though he's declined to name the man or reveal his nationality.

Kassig, a 26 year-old American now threatened by the Islamic State group, enlisted in the Army in 2004, and became a Ranger, ultimately serving in the 75th Ranger Regiment, an Army special operations unit.

According to his military record, Kassig trained at Fort Benning, Georgia in 2006, and deployed to Iraq from April to July 2007. He was medically discharged at the rank of private first class in September 2007. His home of record at the time of his enlistment was Indianapolis, Indiana.

His parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, issued a statement through a media relations firm, asking for the world to pray for their son.

"The Kassig family extends our concern for the family of Alan Henning. We have read about his work and his generous character with great respect and admiration," the statement said. "We ask everyone around the world to pray for the Henning family, for our son, and for the release of all innocent people being held hostage in the Middle East and around the globe."

The family said Kassig had been working for the relief organization SERA when he was captured on Oct. 1, 2013 on his way to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria. He converted to Islam while in captivity and the family has heard from former hostages that his faith has provided him comfort.

Henning, 47, nicknamed "Gadget," had joined an aid convoy and was taken captive on Dec. 26, shortly after crossing the border between Turkey and Syria. Earlier this week, Henning's wife Barbara Henning asked the militants in a televised plea: "Please release him. We need him back home."

Dozens of Muslim leaders in Britain have urged the Islamic State group to release Henning. His wife had said she had been given hope by "the outcry across the world" over her husband's imprisonment.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim charity, called Henning "a British hero."

His "barbaric killing is an attack against all decent people around the world," Shafiq said.

The Islamic State group has its roots in al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate but was expelled from the global terror network over its brutal tactics and refusal to obey orders to confine its activities to Iraq. It became even more extreme amid the bloody 3-year civil war in neighboring Syria, growing stronger to the point of being able to launch a lightning offensive across much of northern Iraq, routing security forces there and shooting down an Iraqi helicopter on Friday. The group has become known for filming and releasing footage of mass shootings it conducts, as well as beheading opponents and targeting religious and ethnic minorities in the areas it attacks.

The extremist group has been widely denounced by mainstream Muslim authorities.

Other foreigners are believed held by the Islamic State group. On Friday, the father of John Cantlie, a British photojournalist held by the group, appealed for his release in a video, saying he was a friend of Syria.

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Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Bradley Klapper, Josh Lederman and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap . Follow Jill Lawless on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jilllawless .

Parents of American Peter Kassig, held by Islamic State, release statement and ask for prayers for their son and all hostages

Kassig is shown in purported beheading video of British national Alan Henning

The parents of an American Iraq war veteran being held captive by Islamic State militants offered condolences to the family of slain aid worker Alan Henning and asked for prayers for thier son Friday.

The violent extremist group, also called IS and ISIL, released a video Friday that claims to show the beheading of British national Henning, 47, an aid worker who had traveled to Syria in December 2013 and was abducted. At the end of the video, a member of the radical group threatens the life of American captive Peter Kassig.

Kassig, 26, is shown in an orange jumpsuit held by a masked man who says, “Obama, you have started your aeriall bombardment in Sham [Syria] which keeps on striking our people, so it is only right that we continue to strike the necks of your people."

Parents Ed and Paula Kassig, who live in Indianapolis, released the following statement Friday:

"The Kassig family extends our concern for the family of Alan Henning. We have read about his work and his generous character with great respect and admiration. We ask everyone around the world to pray for the Henning family, for our son, and for the release of all innocent people being held hostage in the Middle East and around the globe."

U.S. officials confirmed to the Associated Press that Kassig was being held by the Islamic State.

A representative of the Kassig family who shared details about Peter Kassig reported he has converted to Islam while in captivity and now goes by the name Abdul-Rahman.

Peter Kassig joined the Army in 2006 and was briefly deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Rangers in 2007, according to a 2012 interview with CNN. He was later honorably discharged due to a medical condition. Kassig then studied to become an emergency medical technician and in 2012 founded a humanitarian aid group called SERA (Special Emergency Response and Assistance).

The non-governmental organization, based in Gaziantep, Turkey, but not currently functional, provided food and medical supplies for refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war. A message posted on its website now says, "Due to the present security situation in Syria, SERA has temporarily ceased its operations.” It was not clear when the message was posted.

Kassig said he felt that aid work was his calling.

“We each get one life and that’s it,” he told CNN in 2012 while doing volunteer work in Lebanon. "The way I saw it I didn’t have a choice. This is what I was put here to do. I guess I’m just a hopeless romantic and an idealist and I believe in hopeless causes."

He wrote passionately about his work to help Syrian refugees on a fundraising page he started for his group SERA.

"We may not have much but I have always felt that the reasons why you do something are as important as what you do," Kassig wrote, "This is about making a difference not just through material goods, but also the exchange of ideas and experiences that the interanational [sic] community benefits from through this type of iniative [sic]".

In his work in Lebanon, Turkey and Syria, Kassig worked closely with and befriended Syrian medical and humanitarian workers who were trying to save lives and restore hope. He converted to Islam while being held by the Islamic State, and the family representative said former hostages have told Kassig's parents that Peter's adopted faith helped him cope with his long imprisonment.

The Kassig family representative said Peter was working on a project for SERA when he was detained while traveling to eastern Syria on Oct. 1, 2013.

Henning is the fourth captive to be executed by the Islamic State. The group also killed American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines.

The White House released a statement Friday condemning Henning’s murder:

“The United States strongly condemns the brutal murder of United Kingdom citizen Alan Henning by the terrorist group ISIL. Mr. Henning worked to help improve the lives of the Syrian people and his death is a great loss for them, for his family and the people of the United Kingdom. Standing together with our UK friends and allies, we will work to bring the perpetrators of Alan’s murder – as well as the murders of Jim Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines – to justice. Standing together with a broad coalition of allies and partners, we will continue taking decisive action to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.”

Islamic State threatens to kill former Army Ranger

U.S. officials confirm that the American being held by the radical group is 26-year-old Peter Kassig.
His parents ask for prayers

MOUNT ARAFAT (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - Muslim leaders must strike the enemies of Islam with "an iron hand", Saudi Arabia's top cleric said during Friday prayers, in apparent condemnation of the Islamic State jihadist group.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh's comments came after Saudi Arabia and four other Arab nations joined the United States in aerial bombardment of the IS militants in Syria.

Speaking to Muslims from around the world in an address during the annual hajj pilgrimage, the mufti called on fellow Islamic leaders to "hit with an iron hand the enemies of Islam."

The IS group has declared a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq where they have committed a spate of atrocities including crucifixions and beheadings.

"Your religion is threatened. Your security is threatened," he thundered, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

"These criminals carry out rapes, bloodshed and looting," he said, adding that "these vile crimes can be considered terrorism" and their perpetrators have nothing to do with Islam.

"They are tyrants," he said, warning of "their deviant ideology."

The mufti spoke from Nimrah Mosque at Mount Arafat in western Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites.

Close to two million Muslims from around the world were gathered at Mount Arafat for a day of prayer at the peak of the annual hajj.

The comments were the mufti's latest criticism of the extremists.

In August, he urged Muslim youth not to be influenced by "calls for jihad ... on perverted principles," and he described Al-Qaeda and IS jihadists as "enemy number one" of Islam.

The kingdom is seeking to deter youths from becoming jihadists after Syria's conflict attracted hundreds of Saudis.

King Abdullah decreed in February jail terms of up to 20 years for citizens who travel to fight abroad.

Muslim leaders urged to strike enemies of Islam

Saudi Arabia’s top cleric calls on fellow Islamic leaders to rebuke the Islamic State militant group and its ideology.
'Your religion is threatened'

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Russian rebels pressed Friday to seize a key airport in eastern Ukraine despite fierce resistance by government forces.

An AP reporter on Friday saw three rebel tanks firing their cannons at the main terminal of Donetsk airport, where government forces have holed up. Sniper shots rang around the area.

Rebels have made some gains in the area near the airport, seizing some buildings on its fringes and using them to target the main terminal.

Fighting for the airport has intensified this week, threatening to derail the truce declared Sept. 5. A follow-up deal which called for both parties to pull back their artillery to create a buffer zone hasn't been implemented.

"Since the ceasefire was signed on September 5th, continued violence has killed well over 200 people, many of them innocent men, women and children," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington. "We call on all parties to take all feasible precautions to prevent the loss of innocent life, comply with international humanitarian law, and respect the facilities of humanitarian organizations."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov early Friday, expressing his concern about the intensifying violence in eastern Ukraine, she added.

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A pro-Russian rebel tank rolls to take position near to the airport in the town of Donetsk, eastern …

Kiev and the West have asserted that Moscow is fueling the separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine by providing arms and personnel, something Russia denies.

Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, Yuriy Sergeyev, told reporters Friday that "it is evident that Russia demonstrates little resolve to fully comply with obligations under the Minsk arrangements."

He said Russia still regularly shells Ukrainian military and civilian areas and the failure to follow the agreement "would be absolutely disastrous."

"So far, positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been shelled about 800 times," he said. "As a result of these attacks, about 40 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and about 200 wounded."

The pro-Russian rebels, in turn, have accused the Ukrainian government forces of breaching the truce and shelling residential areas of Donetsk.

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A Pro-Russian rebel prepares his sniper rifle for action near the airport, in the town of Donetsk, e …

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko said two Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and another nine wounded since Thursday. He said that Ukrainian forces at the airport have undergone rotation and firmly stood their ground.

The airport, located just north of Donetsk, the largest city in the east, gives the Ukrainian forces a convenient vantage point to target rebel positions. Its loss would be a major blow to Ukraine and would also allow the rebels to receive large cargo planes with supplies in addition to truck convoys from Russia.

Residential areas in Donetsk have been caught in the crossfire. A Red Cross staffer died Thursday when a shell landed near the group's office in Donetsk.

A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement late Thursday, saying the aid worker's death, along with the shelling of a school that killed three people earlier this week, "underscore the fragility of the current cease-fire and the importance of ensuring a secure environment in south-eastern Ukraine that will allow humanitarian actors to carry out their work and deliver critical assistance to those most in need."

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Cara Anna in New York and Mathew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea's presumptive No. 2 and other members of Pyongyang's inner circle met with South Korean officials Saturday in the rivals' highest level face-to-face talks in five years, a possible indication that both sides are interested in pursuing better ties after months of animosity.

There appeared to be no major breakthrough from the meeting that came as the North's delegation made a surprise visit to the close of the Asian Games in the South Korean port city of Incheon. But the countries agreed to hold another round of talks between the end of October and the beginning of November, according to a South Korean statement. The specific topics of Saturday's discussions weren't immediately known.

Still, just the fact that North Koreans at the highest levels visited the South was significant, allowing valuable contact between confidants of North Korea's authoritarian leader and senior South Korean officials after a year that has seen a steady stream of insults between the divided neighbors and an unusual number of North Korean missile and rocket test firings.

One analyst called it a "golden opportunity" for South Korean President Park Geun-hye to test North Korea's willingness to improve shaky ties. The South Korean statement said Park had been willing to meet with the Pyongyang officials, but the North Koreans were running out of time because they had to attend the Asian Games' closing ceremonies. South Korea said its prime minister, largely a figurehead but technically the No. 2 position, met with the delegation later Saturday before the North Koreans left South Korea late in the evening to return home.

The North Koreans were led by Hwang Pyong So, the top political officer for the Korean People's Army and considered by outside analysts to be North Korea's second most important official after supreme leader Kim Jong Un. Hwang is also a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission and a vice marshal of the army.

Hwang and his delegation earlier had a closed-door lunch meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae and national security director Kim Kwan-jin.

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North Korea’s National Defense Commission Vice Chairman Hwang Pyong So, center, accompanied by North …

The visit comes amid rumors in Seoul about the health of Kim Jong Un, who has made no public appearances since Sept. 3 and skipped a high-profile recent event he usually attends. A recent official documentary showed footage from August of him limping and overweight and mentioned he had been feeling "discomfort."

This visit of "a very high-octane group" offers Park a unique chance "to test the North Korean leadership's will and intentions," said John Delury, an Asia specialist at Seoul's Yonsei University. "Historically, North-South breakthroughs start from the top down, and if Park is serious that she wants to improve relations and jumpstart the reunification process, this is a golden opportunity."

Both sides expressed hope for better relations in comments to the media ahead of the private meeting.

It was a source of pride for all Koreans that the Asian Games were successful for both countries, which were in the top 10 for gold medals, said one of the North Korean officials, Kim Yang Gon, a secretary in the ruling Workers' Party and senior official responsible for South Korean affairs, according to the YTN TV network. Choe Ryong Hae, another Workers' Party secretary and chairman of the State Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission, also attended.

High-level North Korean visits to South Korea have been scarce since Park's conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, took office in early 2008 with a tough line on the North. Attacks blamed on North Korea in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans.

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North Korea’s National Defense Commission Vice Chairman Hwang Pyong So, second right, and North Kore …

The last such senior visit south was in 2009, when high-ranking Workers' Party official Kim Ki Nam and spy chief Kim Yang Gon, who also visited Saturday, came to pay their respects to the late liberal South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. The North Koreans met Lee, conveyed a message from then-leader Kim Jong Il and discussed inter-Korean cooperation.

Senior officials from the rival Koreas — lower-level than those who met Saturday — met at a border village in February for talks that dealt with key inter-Korean issues such as South Korea-U.S. military drills and the resumption of reunions of Korean War-divided families. In August, South Korea proposed another round of talks to discuss about the family reunions.

Specific topics for the next round of talks, which will follow up on meetings on Saturday and in February, are not known, South Korean officials said.

If no progress follows Saturday's meeting, the rivals' strained relations will likely continue until Park, who took office in early 2013, finishes her single five-year term, said Cheong Seong-chang at the private Sejong Institute. The visit could also be part of an effort to show that Kim has no problem making high-profile political decisions and has no serious health issues, he said.

Besides the North Korean test firings of about 100 rockets and missiles this year, both sides have leveled harsh criticism at each other, with North Korean state media calling the South Korean president a prostitute.

Word of the North's participation in the Asian Games was welcomed as a step forward.

North Korea boycotted the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics, both in Seoul, but attended the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, the 2003 University Games in Daegu and the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon. Those last three came during an era of liberal governments in Seoul that were more accommodating to Pyongyang.