We 'have never been prouder of him'

ISIS video purports to show James Foley moments before his beheading.

ROCHESTER - The family of journalist James Foley are pleading for privacy today after Islamic State militants released a grisly video Tuesday showing his beheading.

Foley, 40, who grew up in Wolfeboro, N.H., had been held by Syrian extremists for about two years after his capture sometime around Thanksgiving 2012.

His mother, Diane Foley, who lives in Rochester, went on a Facebook page that had been dedicated to his release to praise her son’s heroism and to plead with his killers to release the other hostages, saying they “are the innocents.”

We “have never been prouder of him," the statement reads. “He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.

“We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.”

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, released a statement saying, “This barbarous and heinous act shocks the conscience and underscores the truly evil nature of the terrorists we confront, who must be defeated.”

James Foley

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, said, “James Foley was a respected and accomplished journalist who devoted his life to one of our most important freedoms – the freedom of press. … His murder was a cowardly act of terrorism and underscores the threat that ISIS poses to the freedoms we hold dear.”

Rochester Mayor T. J. Jean told the Boston Herald, “We’ve dealt with this now for a while. “I can only imagine what it must be like to have a child who you’ve lost contact with and to every night lie in bed wondering what’s happened to them. To hear the reports today that he was executed was just gut wrenching.”

This was not the first time Foley, a correspondent for GlobalPost, had been held captive during a regime-change confrontation. He was captured in Libya two years ago, but was released after 44 days in captivity.
But when The Lebanon Voice interviewed his mother last fall, she indicated the Syria kidnapping was far more volatile than the one in Libya when he was missing, because during that stint officials knew who was holding him.

She said in Syria, however, they had had no contact and no progress in finding out where he was and what his captors’ intentions were.