Sotloff family: ‘We will emerge from this ordeal’

A spokesman for the family of slain American journalist Steven Sotloff on Wednesday evening said they would overcome his tragic death.

“We will emerge from this ordeal,” Barak Barfi said in a brief statement.

Barfi said enemies of the U.S. cannot be allowed to win with what he called the “sole weapons they possess — fear.”

“Steve had a gentle soul that this world will be without, but his spirit will endure in our hearts,” he added. “Our village is strong.”

{mosads}Sotloff “indulged in South Park,” but was just as serious about filing a story at 3 a.m., Barfi said. He also said Sotloff always found time to video chat with his father about his latest golf game. 

Barfi spoke in Arabic after delivering the family’s statement in English. He asked the media to give the Sotloff family privacy.

His comments come just a day after a gruesome video surfaced showing a militant from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) beheading Sotloff. Obama administration officials confirmed on Wednesday the video is authentic.

Sotloff, 31, disappeared in Syria in August 2013 after reporting for various U.S. news outlets.

ISIS released a similar video only weeks ago showing the beheading of another U.S. journalist, James Foley.

President Obama vowed on Wednesday that “justice will be served” in the wake of Sotloff’s brutal murder.

Members of Congress have been calling on the administration to launch airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, but Obama said last week the Pentagon is still trying to put together a comprehensive strategy.