Intermediaries working with the Islamic State (ISIS) are trying to broker a deal to sell the remains of U.S. journalist James Foley for $1 million, after the terrorist group was not able to collect ransom for him and other Western hostages, according to two men who say the group wanted them to close the deal.
The unnamed sources told
BuzzFeed News that ISIS would deliver Foley's corpse to Turkey and is willing to provide a DNA sample to prove that the body is that of the man the group beheaded in August, but ISIS is demanding payment of $1 million up front.
Earlier this year, ISIS reportedly was holding 23 Western hostages in Syria, and released 15 when their governments paid millions in ransoms to secure their releases.
However, the British and American hostages remained behind, as their governments refuse to pay ransoms or allow their families to pay off the captors.
After
Foley was murdered in August, ISIS went on to release videos of three more executions: U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker Alan Henning and U.S. aid worker Peter Kassig. Two more people, British journalist John Cantlie and a female U.S. aid worker, remain held by ISIS.
One of the BuzzFeed sources is a former Syrian rebel fighter with ties to ISIS commanders, who said he has been an intermediary during hostage negotiations with the al-Qaida subsidiary Jabhat al-Nusra and with ISIS.
He said ISIS asked him to find a way to contact the U.S. government or Foley's family to seek $1 million for his body.
Another intermediary said he is a businessman who wanted to use his connections with ISIS to broker hostage deals.
A senior official with the Free Syrian Army told BuzzFeed that he was worried about an article being published, as the attention could ruin a deal. In addition, he was concerned that the U.S. government would forbid such a deal from going through.
"It will be like a shame for the U.S. government," the FSA official said. "People will ask why you brought the body but you didn’t bring him when he was alive."
The U.S. State Department said it is seeking more information over whether the terror group is trying to sell the remains of Foley and other hostages, with one senior diplomat telling BuzzFeed the idea is "disgusting."
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.