Still Image From Undated Video Of A Masked Islamic State Militant Holding A Knife Speaking Next To Man Purported To Be James Foley At An Unknown Location
A masked Islamic State militant holding a knife speaks next to man purported to be U.S. journalist James Foley at an unknown location in this still image from an undated video posted on a social media website. Reuters/Social Media Website v

The British accent of the man who beheaded American journalist James Wright Foley is the key to tracking the terror group identified with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levants (ISIL). Intelligence agencies are trying to know the identity of the executioner who hid his face using a black cloth.

Read: After James Foley, ISIL Threatens to Behead Another American Journalist Steven Sotloff

When the video of the beheading spread in news sites and video sharing sites, the US initially said it would verify if the video is real, but latest report, according to The Telegraph, said that the FBI had talked to the family of the journalist who had been missing since mid-2013. Based on preliminary analysis, there is reason to believe the beheading video is authentic, reports GlobalPost where Foley was a former employee.

Intelligence agencies are planning to use voice recognition technology to help further identify the beheader of Foley who was on a freelance assignment from GlobalPost when he was abducted on Nov 22, 2012 in northern Syria. In his last article, the photojournalist wrote about the growing frustration among civilians with the war.

In 2011, Foley was released after spending 44 days in a Libyan jail. He had previously been part of embedded tours with American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he opted to get closer to the conflict in the Middle East by having no screen between himself and the armoured vehicle he rode with US troops as part of the embedded tours.

While his GlobalPost editor attempted to stop him from going deeper into the conflict areas, Foley insisted on going since he didn't want to rely on social media rumours to get more information.

He admitted that part of the attraction of going to these dangerous places was to discover more about the conflict that his brother was experiencing as a soldier with the US Air Force.

Here's more information about Foley is this video.

YouTube/Roscle