Islamic State video shows 2nd British hostage beheaded

Islamic State militants beheaded British aid worker Alan Henning in a video posted on Friday, triggering swift condemnation by the British and US governments.

The footage on YouTube, highlighted on pro-Islamic State Twitter feeds, showed a middle-aged man in an orange jumpsuit kneeling next to a black-clad militant in arid scrubland, similar to past Islamic State beheading videos of two American journalists and a British aid worker. As in previous videos, Henning appears to read from a script before he is killed. "Because of our parliament's decision to attack the Islamic State, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision," he says.

A male voice with a British accent says, "The blood of David Haines was on your hands Cameron," in references to the slain aid worker and to Britain's prime minister.

"Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British parliament."

Henning, a 47-year-old taxi driver from Salford in northern England, was part of an aid convoy taking medical supplies to a hospital in northwest Syria in December last year when it was stopped by gunmen and he was abducted.

In response to the video, Cameron said: "The brutal murder of Alan Henning by ISIL shows just how barbaric and repulsive these terrorists are. My thoughts and prayers tonight are with Alan's wife Barbara, their children and all those who loved him.