Their demand taps into feelings of ‘Muslim righteousness’ felt widely throughout the two countries, said Michael Semple, a leading expert on the Taliban and former European Union representative in Kabul.Sympathy for her over her arrest, detention and extradition to the United States is so widespread in Pakistan that its government offered to swap her for a CIA contractor who shot dead two alleged robbers in a Lahore street in 2011.
Dr Siddiqui, a US-trained neuro-scientist, was arrested in Ghazni, Afghanistan in 2008 and found to have documents on chemical weapons, dirty bombs viruses among notes indicating she was planning attacks against American enemies.
Full story to follow.
11.38 French journalist says he may know idenity of killer
From David Chazan in Paris: A former hostage held with James Foley indicated on Wednesday that he had a good idea of the identity of the jihadist who beheaded the American journalist.
Didier François was asked in an interview on Europe 1 radio if he had recognised the killer shown in a video released by Islamic State militants.
“Recognised is a very big word. I see roughly who it is,” Mr François, 53, said, adding that he had made no public statements about James Foley or the remaining American hostage, Steven Sotloff, after he was freed in April because of threats of reprisals against them.
He said that before he was released he was told: “If you make public the fact they are being held or that you were together, reprisals will follow against them. Their exact words were: ‘They’ll be punished’”.
Mr François said Foley had been singled out for beatings after his captors found pictures on his computer of his brother, who works for the US Air Force.
He said that Foley, like the other hostages, had been subjected to mock executions, including one in which he was “crucified against a wall.”
11.12 Fellow hostage describes time with Foley
French journalist Nicolas Henin, who was held captive alongside James Foley for seven months, has spoken to the BBC about his time with the American. Prior to Foley's death, Henin kept quiet about his experiences in order not to jeopardise the safety of any of the remaining hostages. His video interview is via the link in his tweet below.
10.14 'It's only a matter of time before killer is caught'
It is only a matter of time before the British jihadi that killed James Foley is identified and caught, Richard Barratt, a former Head of Terrorism Operations at MI6, has said. He told the BBC's Today Programme
I mean the intelligence community certainly but also the community from which this man comes, he will have had many acquaintances and friends and family of course in the United Kingdom and those people will wish to see him brought to justice.
Asked what would happen if he were identified, Barrett said that special forces could be sent in to find him.
But there is a course of action that can be taken, and once he's been identified, that course of action becomes easier and clearer.
10.01 Calls for parliament recall
David Cameron has returned to Cornwall to resume his holiday. Cameron broke off the break to chair meetings at Downing Street following the murder of James Foley.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said the conflict in Iraq was so serious that Parliament should have been recalled “weeks ago”.
Bob Stewart, the Conservative MP, said: “If we are talking about putting military forces on the ground, even for training purposes, then I don’t think there is any choice but to recall Parliament.
09.45 Tony Abbott condems murder, calls for new laws
Australian Prime Minster Tony Abbott has issued a statement condemning the murder of James Foley. He has also used the news to bolster his case for tougher domestic terrorism laws. Abbott is proposing a raft of laws, the most controversial of which would make traveling to a terrorism hotbed a criminal offence without a valid reason such as visiting family. Abbott said:
Abbott said the killing was an example of why Australia needed news laws "to strengthen the powers of our security agencies to make it easier to detain and jail people who have been involved in terrorist activities overseas."
09.06 More on the negotiations for Foley's release
There is now video of the statement from Philip Balboni, co-founder of Global Post, Foley's employer at the time he was captured. Balboni describes the negotiations for Foley's release:
Remember, we have been working on this case for almost two years, we've had a team of investigators in the field, in the Middle East and Europe, investigating Jim's whereabouts and the means of securing his freedom
Everything that we every learned we provided to the United States Government, to the FBI and the State Department and other appropriate agencies.
08.48 Why do journalists put themselves in danger?
One question asked when a journalist dies in the course of reporting from a warzone is, why do they put themselves in such danger? Especially in an age in which social media gives militants the ability to reach audiences directly. My colleague Colin Freeman was captured himself in Somalia in 2008. He writes this morning about the reasons journalists put themselves in harms way.
In the old days, there used to be a certain symbiosis between journalists and guerrilla groups: as the only people who could broadcast their grievances to the wider world, we had a certain value as witnesses, which also afforded a certain degree of protection. Today, by contrast, when groups like the Islamic State and al-Shabaab have their own Twitter feeds and full-time media wings, no journalist who falls into their hands can expect much traction by offering to "tell their side of the story".
08.37
There is an unconfirmed report circulating on Twitter that Abu Mosa, the Islamic State's press officer who featured heavily in a recent documentary about the group by Vice News, has been killed by the Syrian Army.
Islamic State press officer Abu Mosa, who has reportedly been killed by the Syrian Army
08.14 Boots on the ground
US officials have told the Associated Press that additional troops may be on their way to Iraq - probably less than 300 - to provide extra security around Baghdad, where the US Embassy is located.
That would bring the number of US troops in the country to more than 1,000.
08.02 Fresh round of airstrikes
The US Air Force launched 14 air strikes against IS positions in the wake of the James Foley murder video surfacing, bringing the total number of air strikes since they began on 8 August to 84.
07.58 David Cameron resumes holiday
David Cameron is to resume his holiday in Cornwell "but will remain fully plugged in" to the continuing crisis in Iraq, according to Sky News.
Cameron paused his summer holiday on Wednesday to return to Downing Street.
07.56 Steven Sotloff petition
A petition calling on Barack Obama to "do everything possible to free American reporter Steven Sotloff" has reached 5,976 signatures. It needs to reach 100,000 signatures by 18 September to force the administration to review it.
07.44 Telegraph View
The Telegraph leader article this morning pays tribute to the bravery of war reporters and calls on David Cameron to do more to tackle the threat of extremism in Britain.
What is it that has made British Muslims more likely to join the jihad against the country that nurtured them than, say, their Italian or French counterparts? Moreover, are the British Islamists that have gone to fight for IS about to return to cause mayhem on the streets here? True, many will die in Iraq and Syria, as some already have; others will stay until the caliphate is smashed, as it will be eventually. They will then come home, many to resume normal lives but some with a burning resentment of the West, even though they are of the West themselves. What threat will they pose and how is it to be forestalled?
07.26 Ransom demand
Isil demanded a "multi-million dollar" ransom for Foley, according to a report in the New York Times, which credits a family representative and former hostage with the information.
The US refused to pay, according to the NYT report.
07.15 Threat to parents
The second main development overnight was news that Foley's captors directly contacted his parents last week, threatening to kill him if the US did not halt air strikes against IS targets in Iraq
Foley's family contacted the White House but not negotiations took place. Philip Balboni, co-founder of Global Post, for which Foley was working when he was captured, gave WCVB television details on the threat:
We pleaded with them for mercy. We explained to them that Jim was an innocent journalist, had done no harm to the Syrian people Sadly they showed no mercy.
My colleague Philip Sherwell has the full story here.
Foley's parents gave a statement last night, in which they called their son a "martyr for freedom". See it in full below:
07.08 Failed rescue mission
The most signifcant development is the revelation that US special forces attempted to rescue Foley earlier this summer.
Two dozen special forces troops were parachuted into Syria, according to the Pentagon, but failed to find Foley and his fellow hostages.
US Correspondent Josie Ensor has more detail:
The US forces landed specially modified Black Hawk helicopters at the site of the raid, where they came under heavy fire, according to a former intelligence official.
A number of militants, but no Americans, were killed. One American sustained a minor injury when an aircraft was hit.
According to a Syrian opposition media centre, the operation took place around 2am on July 3 just outside Raqqa at their "Sheikh Osama Military Camp". Five were killed, according to a post on their Facebook account from July 4.
07.02 Barack Obama comments
The President broke from his holiday to address the nation yesterday, calling IS a "cancer" that must be "extracted" from the Middle East. You can watch his comment in full here:
07.00 James Foley coverage, day two
Coverage of the murder of James Foley by Islamic State militants is entering is second day. We'll have all the significant developments on that story at the wider situation in Iraq and Syria here.
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