Henning was captured during ISIL's occupation of the Syrian city of Al-Dana in December 2013 while providing humanitarian aid.[3] The British Foreign Office withheld news of Henning's capture while it attempted to negotiate his release.
Local colleagues had warned Henning not to cross the border into Syria, but he insisted on going to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian supplies.[4][5]
At the time of his capture, Henning was working as a driver for the Worcester-based charity Al-Fatiha Global. [1] Henning was shown at the end of David Cawthorne Haines's execution video, released on 13 September 2014, and was referred to as being the next victim by Mohammed Emwazi, who the media described as "Jihadi John" of the ISIL cell known as The Beatles. A video of Henning's beheading was released on 3 October 2014.[2][6]
In an al-Qaeda magazine interview, spokesman Adam Gadahn condemned the beheading.[7] After his murder, British Prime Minister David Cameron ordered MI5, MI6, and GCHQ to track down and either kill or capture his killer.[8][9][10] Emwazi was ultimately killed in an American drone strike in 2015.[11][12]