ISIS Beheads Steven Sotloff; Is Video Fake or Authentic?

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released a new video on Tuesday purportedly showing the killing of another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, who went missing in Syria in August last year.

A masked man, who appeared to be the same person in the execution video of James Foley that was released on Aug. 19, blasted United States president Barack Obama for his recent policy against ISIS.

"I'm back, Obama, and I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State, because of your insistence on continuing your bombings and in Amerli, Zumar and the Mosul Dam, despite our serious warnings," the mask man said in the video.

Raya Jalabi of The Guardian reported that the new video showed striking similarity to James Foley's purported execution> This has created speculation that the video might be a fake one.

According to the report, the new video appeared to have been filmed in the same deserted area. The actual beheading was not shown like in the first video, but a body with a separated head appeared in the footage, then the masked man threatened to kill another hostage soon.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that they have already reviewed the video, but declined to confirm whether or not they are convinced about the authenticity of the footage.

"I'm not in a position to confirm the authenticity of that video or the reports," Earnest said via BBC. "It's something that will be analyzed very carefully by the U.S. government and our intelligence officials to establish its authenticity."

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan also said that they are still gathering critical information to determine if the video is fake or real, adding that they will release more information about the alleged beheading as soon as possible.

"We have seen a video that purports to be the murder of U.S. citizen Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity," Meehan said via Reuters. "If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist."

While authorities are still being careful in releasing information about the video, Sotloff's family released a statement through spokesman Barak Barfi where they sounded like they are considering the video to be real.

"The family knows of this horrific tragedy and is grieving privately. There will be no public comment from the family during this difficult time," Barfi said.

Fox News reported that the new video prompted U.S. lawmakers to urge Obama to intensify their efforts to stop the group quickly through airstrikes in Syria.