ISIS waterboarded captives, including James Foley

ISIS waterboarded captives, including James Foley
(Image credit: Manu Brabo via Facebook.com/FreeJamesFoley)

At least four hostages held by ISIS in Syria were waterboarded shortly after being captured, sources familiar with their treatment said.

Journalist James Foley, who was beheaded last week by the militant group, was waterboarded several times while being held in Raqqah, Syria, sources said. The Washington Post reports that the group seemed to model the technique on the CIA's use of waterboarding terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11 attacks. "They knew exactly how it was done," said a source, who said they would discuss the treatment of the hostages on condition of anonymity.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.