Alan Henning: from Salford taxi driver to Islamic State hostage

Jihadists threaten to behead a second British aid worker, who travelled to Syria to help refugees

Alan Henning
(Image credit: Family Handout/PA)

The second British hostage threatened with death by Islamic State militants has been named as Alan Henning, a taxi driver from Salford, Greater Manchester. The 47-year-old was seen at the end of a video showing the murder of British aid worker David Haines. The video, which showed both men on their knees in orange jumpsuits in front of a masked jihadist with a British accent, follows the executions of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. So how did Henning go from being a taxi driver in Salford to an Islamic State hostage?

Why did Henning go to Syria?

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