Peter Kassig Beheading: Is 26-Year-Old American Woman Next ISIS Victim?

The latest ISIS video, which shows the horrifying beheading of American aid worker Peter Kassig, has left everyone wondering who the dreaded Jihadist group's next American target is. And the possible answer will leave everyone heartbroken.

Unlike in previous videos, the latest footage does not show Kassig alive in the beginning of the video. Additionally, the group hasn't yet named the next hostage they intend to kill. 

However, reports suggest that there is one last American hostage held by the dreaded jihadists and it is a 26-year-old female. She is not only the last American hostage held by the ISIS terrorist group, but will also be the first woman hostage to be beheaded.

The name of the 26-year-old has been kept under wraps so far, and the US officials and the woman's family have requested that her name be kept a secret, fearing that the revelation could put her life in further jeopardy.

However, the general circumstances of her captivity have been reported widely by media, ever since she went missing a year ago.

Citing credible sources, the Daily Beast noted in an article that the hostage is the only American woman held by the militant group. She is of the same age as Kassig, and like him, was kidnapped while helping people who were injured in the Syrian civil war.

The woman was particularly concerned about children who had lost their parents and were separated from their families. She was taken hostage by ISIS in August last year, along with other aid workers, who were earlier reported to have been released.

What the ISIS group intends to do with the 26-year-old is yet unclear, but US officials have noted that she doesn't appear at the end of the video released on Sunday, which showed Kassig being beheaded along with over 16 Syrian soldiers. The video broke the usual ISIS norm of revealing the next person to be killed.

While on one hand it is being speculated if ISIS is going to be a bit sympathetic with her considering she is a woman, on the other, the terror group is known for its brutality towards women in particular with reported cases of mass rapes and tortures.

They have also sold women captives – particular Yazidi girls -- as sex slaves. However, the group has not yet beheaded a woman on camera and if they ever choose to do so, the impact of such an incident on the world would be an unprecedented one.