US President Barack Obama has condemned the killing of American aid worker Peter Kassig as ‘pure evil’.<br /><br />His murder at the hands of the group calling itself Islamic State or ISIL has been confirmed by the White House and greeted by his family with great sadness.<br /><br />Kassig’s parents said they were proud of their son and for his humanitarian work . The 26-year-old was representing his own charity in Syria when he was captured last October.<br /><br />Kassig changed his name to Abdul Rahman after converting to Islam while in captivity. <br /><br />News of his death came in the form of a video posted on line which also showed the beheadings of at least 14 other men said by ISIL to be pilots and officers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.<br /><br />One of the ISIL members on the tape is thought to have had a British accent and the French interior ministry claims a French national may have also been among the militants carrying out the killings.<br /><br />Islamic State militants have previously beheaded four other westerners – US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning. All had been working in Syria when they were taken hostage.
