WASHINGTON: The United States confirmed on Saturday that militants of the Islamic State group were holding another American citizen, Peter Kassig.

“We can confirm that US citizen Peter Kassig is being held by ISIL,” said Caitlin Hayden, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, while using another popular acronym for the group.

“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,” she added.

On Friday, the militants released a video, showing Mr Kassig standing next to a masked gunman. “At this point we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the video,” Ms Hayden said.

Peter Edward Kassig, 26, is a former US Army Ranger who was captured in Lebanon last year during a relief mission.

Mr Kassig first visited Beirut on a college spring break trip and returned as a medical assistant and humanitarian worker.

He later founded a nongovernmental organisation in his native Indiana to help refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war but on Oct 1, 2013, the militants captured him.

In the video released on Friday, the militants threatened to behead Mr Kassig after a British hostage Alan Henning, who was apparently decapitated on Friday.

The group has already beheaded four Western hostages, two British and two Americans.

On Friday evening, Mr Kassig’s parents issued a statement from their home in India, urging militants to spare his life. “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 statement said.

Published in Dawn, October 5th , 2014