LONDON — Islamic militants are using a beheading video to send a chilling message — not just through the gruesome act, but also by the choice of messenger.
The black-clad fighter who appears to kill journalist James Foley speaks with an English accent, underscoring the insurgents’ increasing use of Western militants to mobilize recruits and project the image of a global force.
He is the latest in a string of international jihadis — Britons, Australians, Chechens, Chinese and Indonesians — to appear in propaganda for the Islamic State group.
“They like to suggest they have a presence around the world much stronger than it is,” said Charlie Cooper, a researcher at the Quilliam Foundation, a British counter-extremism think tank. “It does suggest that people all over the world are going off to fight in the tens of thousands.”
Linguists described the man’s accent as “multicultural London English,” spoken by many young, inner-city residents.
