US journalist Steven Sotloff reportedly beheaded by Islamic State in new video

An inteet video that reportedly shows the beheading of US joualist Steven Sotloff has been released.

The execution would be the second one carried out by the Islamic State on an American citizen in recent weeks, following the murder of James Foley last month.

Sotloff, who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, had appeared in the clip that showed the beheading of Foley.

US joualist Steven Sotloff (Picture: Reuters)

Dressed in an orange jumpsuit against the backdrop of an arid Syrian landscape, Sotloff was threatened in that video with death unless the US stopped airstrikes on the group in Iraq.

James Foley was executed last month (Picture: Getty Images)

In the video distributed today and entitled A Second Message to America, Sotloff appears in a similar jumpsuit before he is allegedly beheaded by an Islamic State fighter.

The White House said it could not immediately confirm reports the video had been released.