Hunt for Foley’s Killer Spans Old Policing and Tech Tools

Bloomberg
By: David Lerman, Michael Riley, and Robert Hutton

.

.

A combination of old-fashioned police work and new technology may unmask the Islamic extremist who beheaded American journalist James Foley.

The killer ensured that the task won’t be easy by cloaking himself in loose black clothing, leaving only his eyes and the bridge of his nose visible in the graphic video that sparked denunciations from world leaders and a reinvigorated battle against the group known as Islamic State…

Desolate Scene

The desolate scene suggests to Patrick Skinner, director of special projects at The Soufan Group, a New York-based security consulting firm, that the video was shot in Syria, far from the Iraq border so that the militants wouldn’t have to worry about U.S. airstrikes. Skinner, a former CIA case officer experienced in counterterrorism, said intelligence and law enforcement officials will look for distinctive landmarks in the video in addition to focusing on Foley’s murderer.

The questions the British intelligence services are asking include who was involved in preparing and uploading the video, according to a U.K. government official, who asked not to be named discussing security matters.

Facial recognition will be difficult because the killer covered his face with a mask...

.

.

To read the full article please click on the link below:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-21/social-media-linguistics-scoured-to-find-foley-s-killer.html