Al Jazeera retracts story claiming ISIS beheading videos were staged
News network Al Jazeera Arabic has retracted an article that suggested the videotaped executions of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were staged possibly as a pretext to another U.S. intervention in the Middle East.
Yasser Abu Hilalah, the network's managing director, said in a statement that the report was yanked because it was "inaccurate."
The original report, translated by Al Arabiya News, said the executioner looked "similar to a Hollywood actor," and it claimed Foley may have had ties to the State Department, "which would mean that he colluded in the fabrication of the tape."
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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