The latest hostage threatened with beheading by ISIS is a Britsh national who worked for a string of aid organizations, NBC News has learned.
David Cawthorne Haines was named as the terrorist group's next target in a video that showed the decapitation of American journalist Steven Sotloff.
An official with Nonviolent Peaceforce, a civilian peacekeeping group, confirmed that the man in the video did security work for them in South Sudan in 2012 and was working for another aid group when he was reported abducted in early 2013 in Syria.
"A fellow he was abducted with was released a couple of months ago, and we were hopeful that he would be released soon," said Tiffany Easthom, the South Sudan country director for the organization.
She said that when she heard that ISIS was threatening to kill Haines next, "my heart went into my throat."
She said that Haines had experience with the military and was "very familiar with insecure locations ... He was very caring, had a good sense of humor."
A LinkedIn profile for Haines lists him as the director of a Croatia-based company that supplies kitchen equipment. A woman with the same last name who is listed as an executive of the company declined comment. "Thank you for understanding," she said.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Haines was a British soldier.