With the Islamic State beheading yet another American citizen as the United States continues its intervention in Iraq, the next person identified as a scapegoat to the militant's knife and anti-US retaliation is British national David Cawthorne Haines.
The new video released by the miltants purportedly showing the beheading of journalist Steven Sotloff, just two weeks after they allegedly executed James Foley, showed the militant threatening to execute Haines, dressed in the chillingly similar orange outfit, as the next target.
Haines is reported to be a UK aid worker and a security expert, and was reportedly abducted in March 2013 near the Atmeh refugee camp adjoining the Turkish border in the northern Syrian province of Idlib.
His Linkedin profile suggests that he is a Consultant Director at a Croatian manufacturing company called Astraea and worked as a 'Security and Operations' manager in the Nonviolent Peaceforce in South Sudan earlier.
An official with the civilian peacekeeping group confirmed that Haines had worked with them in 2012 and was working with another aid group when he was abducted last year 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," Tiffany Easthom, the South Sudan country director for the organization, told NBC News.
She said that Haines, who reportedly had a decade of military experience, was "very familiar with insecure locations ... He was very caring, had a good sense of humor".
Haines' profile shows that he was in the military in various positions between 1988 and 1999, and in his summary, he has stated that "I have gained over 23 years of working experience in ever increasing positions of responsibility within private, NGO and military environments. This has allowed me to hone my skills in negotiation, programme management, operations and security to the highest standards".
He studied as the Perth Academy and married Dragana Prodanovic in 2010, according to Vocativ.
Haines' coworkers have expressed shock at seeing him as the next possible victim in the new Islamic State video.
"I just felt ill," Easthom, said. "Nobody deserves that. We were really hoping he would be released and it's not looking very positive. And that's really sickening."
