Back-To-Back Murders Of Journalists In Syria Is Unprecedented

1,074 journalists have been killed since 1992 but the Committee To Protect Journalists has never seen anything quite like this.

The videos of Steven Sotloff and James Foley were released within a two-week period by ISIS

Via wikipedia.org

Their violent murders in Syria by ISIS militants marks the first time in CPJ history that two American journalists are killed back-to-back by the same group. Foley's video was released August 19 while Sotloff's was released September 2.

The rise in social media has allowed extremist groups like ISIS to leverage sites like Youtube and Twitter in order to disseminate their message. The murders of Foley, 40, and Sotloff, 31, mark two of the most high-profile murders of journalists used to send a warning to the U.S.

Foley, a freelancer working for the Agence-France-Presse and GlobalPost, went missing in Northern Syria in November 2012. His beheading is the first murder of an American citizen by ISIS since the conflict in Syria broke out in March 2011.

Sotloff disappeared in August 2013 while reporting from Syria. He was a freelancer for publications including Time and Foreign Policy.

More than 80 journalists have been kidnapped in Syria since the civil war began and 68 journalists have been killed with seven murdered this year including Sotloff and Foley.

There have been 124 American airstrikes on ISIS targets since August 7.

"Just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people" stated an ISIS militant figure before beheading Sotloff.

Via Twitter: @pressfreedom