THE UN, September 15. /ITAR-TASS/. The UN Security Council resolutely condemned an execution of British national David Haines by militants from the group known as Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and called the murder as “heinous and cowardly.

”This crime is a tragic reminder of the increasing dangers humanitarian personnel face every day in Syria,” the 15-member body said in its joint statement. “It also once again demonstrates the brutality of ISIL, which is responsible for thousands of abuses against the Syrian and Iraqi people.”

Haines, 44, was a British humanitarian aid worker and, according to earlier reports, was abducted last year in Syria. The video of his murder was released by ISIL militants on Saturday night.

“The members of the Security Council stressed again that ISIL must be defeated and that the intolerance, violence and hatred it espouses must be stamped out,” the statement said.

Members of the UN Security Council also expressed their condolences to the family of the killed British national, to the UK Government “as well as to the families of all victims of ISIL.”

Haines execution follows ISIL murders of two US journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, who were beheaded by militants within last month.