British Hostage Being Held By Islamic State

Islamist militants IS have made violent advances through large swathes of Iraq and Syria
A British hostage is among those being held by Islamic State militants, Number 10 has confirmed.

It comes after IS threatened to kill a British hostage during a video released on Tuesday that purports to show the beheading of another US journalist.

The PM described the apparent beheading of Stephen Sotloff, 31 - who was captured in Syria in 2013 - as a "disgusting and despicable act".

Officials said David Cameron had known for months that IS had seized a Briton.

Downing Street says it has not commented on the fate of the British hostage while there has been what officials call "strong family liaison" with his relatives.

On Wednesday the prime minister will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee to discuss how the government will respond to the latest murder.

'Way ahead'

The footage of Mr Sotloff's death comes two weeks after IS released a video showing the killing of James Foley, an American freelance journalist who also worked in the Middle East.

It appears to have been filmed after Mr Foley's, though it is impossible to determine the exact timing.

In echoes of that video, a militant dressed in black and speaking with the same English accent again blames US air strikes for the beheading.

Asked if this latest incident would increase pressure on the government to take military action in Iraq, one Downing Street official said the question was "way ahead of the curve".

BBC deputy political editor James Landale said there was an "emerging" debate in Westminster about the possibility of British military action, with one Conservative MP saying there was now a "rational" and "emotional" case to support such a move.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said the killing of Mr Sotloff demonstrated the "murderous barbarism" of IS and showed the group was "a threat which cannot be ignored".

The US has launched more than 120 air strikes in Iraq in the last month, in an attempt to help Kurdish forces curb the advance of IS militants and protect minorities threatened by them.

The brutal advance of the group, which has been accused of ethnic cleansing in the region, has seen it take control of parts of Syria and northern Iraq in recent months.


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