article: In a video published on 2 September, which has been confirmed as authentic by the US authorities, Mr Sotloff was shown dressed in an orange smock, his hands tied behind his back, kneeling in front of a masked figure holding a knife. He was then beheaded. IS had threatened to kill Mr Sotloff at the end of a video released last month showing fellow American journalist James Foley being murdered. US President Barack Obama denounced Mr Sotloff's murder as "a horrific act of violence" and insisted that the he would not be intimidated by IS. "Whatever these murderers think they will achieve by killing innocent Americans like Steven, they have already failed," he said. Mr Sotloff, 31, was abducted in northern Syria a year ago. He is thought to have been kidnapped near the city of Aleppo, and to have been held in the IS stronghold of Raqqa. Reports suggest his family initially did not publicly confirm his abduction because of official advice that no publicity would improve his chances of release. The freelance journalist wrote for several publications, including Time magazine, Foreign Policy, the Christian Science Monitor and World Affairs Journal. He reported from countries including Egypt, Libya and Syria. On his Twitter account, which has been inactive since 3 August 2013, Mr Sotloff described himself as a "stand-up philosopher from Miami". He tweeted about current affairs in Syria, Libya, Egypt and Turkey - but also about his love for the Miami Heat basketball team. Mr Sotloff was Jewish and held dual US-Israeli citizenship. His mother Shirley is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, and he attended a Jewish school in Miami. He later studied journalism at the University of Central Florida, where he also wrote for the student magazine. Mr Sotloff developed a profound interest in and affection for the Middle East and its culture, travelling to Yemen to study Arabic. According to an unnamed former hostage, Mr Sotloff hid his Jewish identity from his captors and even managed to fast on the Day of Atonement - the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Speaking to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronot, the unnamed former hostage said that Mr Sotloff "...told [his captors] that he was sick and didn't want to eat, even though they served us eggs that day". Laura Kasinof of the New York Times tweeted: "Sotloff was brave and loved the Middle East and its people. Always hung out with Yemenis more than foreigners." His friend Emerson Lotzia told the student magazine that journalism was "what he loved to do". "Steve said it was scary over there. It was dangerous. It wasn't safe to be over there. He knew it. He kept going back," he said. His articles also revealed his determination to report from the field, despite the potential risks. In a 2013 report from Egypt, Mr Sotloff described his visit to a Muslim Brotherhood protest camp, despite his Egyptian friend's warning that he would be in danger there. "After an hour of fruitless conversation over endless glasses of sweet tea, I rose, shook Ahmad's hand, and headed
summary: Steven Sotloff is the second American journalist the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) has killed.