JOHN KERRY TO ISIS: We Will Confront You Wherever You Decide To Spread Your 'Despicable Hatred'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. would "never back down" in the face of evil, in the wake of an extremist Islamic group's brutal murder of an American journalist by execution.

In a heavily personal statement, Kerry mourned the death of James Foley, the journalist. He called the group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), the "face" of a new "evil in this world." And he said the U.S. would continue to confront ISIS "wherever it tries to spread its despicable hatred.

"There is evil in this world, and we all have come face to face with it once again. Ugly, savage, inexplicable, nihilistic, and valueless evil," Kerry said in the statement. "ISIL is the face of that evil, a threat to people who want to live in peace, and an ugly insult to the peaceful religion they violate every day with their barbarity."

Kerry's message largely echoed the tone of President Barack Obama, who delivered a statement from Martha's Vineyard earlier in the afternoon. Both Obama and Kerry contrasted the group's barbaric tactics with the life of Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012.

The White House's National Security Council said Wednesday that the video released by the group, which has since been removed from YouTube, was authentic. The video showed a member of the group executing Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012.

"We grieve for James Foley. We mourn for his family and his loved ones. We honor the courage and pray for the safety of all those who risk their lives to discover the truth where it is needed most. And make no mistake: we will continue to confront ISIL wherever it tries to spread its despicable hatred," Kerry said.

"The world must know that the United States of America will never back down in the face of such evil. ISIL and the wickedness it represents must be destroyed, and those responsible for this heinous, vicious atrocity will be held accountable."

Kerry's full statement is below:

James Foley went to the darkest of places to shine the light of truth. Nothing could stop him from sharing with the world the reality of what was happening on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the struggle against a brutal dictator in Libya, and he was just as determined to do the same from Syria. He was brave and bold, and no masked coward can ever steal the legacy of this courageous American who lived out the meaning of the word journalism.

I was a Senator when James was first held in Libya, and we were first introduced to the Foley family. His family was as determined in working towards his release as James had been daring in covering those war zones himself. The sheer unfairness and unlikely odds that this young journalist would again find himself in captivity in another conflict was almost unimaginable. It is impossible to express how much we all wanted this latest horror to end with his family reunited, as it had been the first time.

Teresa and I, along with members of my family who got to know James' mother Diane and his brother, are heartbroken for all of the Foleys. There are no words of condolence that can adequately convey our sorrow, our sympathy, or our anger for what has happened.

There is evil in this world, and we all have come face to face with it once again. Ugly, savage, inexplicable, nihilistic, and valueless evil. ISIL is the face of that evil, a threat to people who want to live in peace, and an ugly insult to the peaceful religion they violate every day with their barbarity.

We grieve for James Foley. We mourn for his family and his loved ones. We honor the courage and pray for the safety of all those who risk their lives to discover the truth where it is needed most. And make no mistake: we will continue to confront ISIL wherever it tries to spread its despicable hatred. The world must know that the United States of America will never back down in the face of such evil. ISIL and the wickedness it represents must be destroyed, and those responsible for this heinous, vicious atrocity will be held accountable.