Islamic State beheads one hostage
The photo purporting to show Japan hostage Haruna Yukawa had been killed
Tokyo: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said early on Sunday that Japan was still working to free two hostages held by the extremist Islamic State group while calling a new online video about their fate “outrageous and unforgiveable.”
The purported message claimed one of the Japanese hostages had been killed and demanded a prisoner exchange for the other. But the post was deleted quickly on Saturday, and militants on a website affiliated with the Islamic State group disagreed about the message’s authenticity. Media could not verify the contents of the message, which varied greatly from previous videos released by the Islamic State, which now holds a third of both Syria and Iraq.
Citing the release of the photo purporting to show hostage Haruna Yukawa had been killed, Abe said at a Cabinet meet: “Such an act of terrorism is outrageous and unforgivable. We feel strong resentment, and strongly condemn the act.” Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said officials were still working to verifying the video. White House National Security Council said US officials were working also to confirm whether it was authentic.
Japan says it won’t give up till the end:
Japan promised Saturday not to give up “until the very end” on efforts to free two Japanese hostages threatened with beheading by Islamic militants demanding a $200 million ransom, after a deadline passed with no word from the captors.
Militants affiliated with the Islamic State group posted an online warning Friday afternoon that the “countdown has begun” for the extremists to kill 47-year-old Kenji Goto and 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa.
The extremists had set a 72-hour deadline for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to pay the ransom, or the hostages would be killed, in an online video posted Tuesday.
Friday’s posting, which appeared on a forum popular among Islamic State militants and sympathisers, did not show any images of the hostages, who are believed to be held somewhere in Syria. Yasuhide Nakayama said he was working around the clock to coordinate efforts to save the hostages.
Japan probes Islamic State new video:
Japanese officials said Saturday they were investigating a new online message purporting to be from the extremist Islamic State group about the two Japanese hostages it holds.
The purported message claimed one hostage has been killed and demanded a prisoner exchange for the other. But the post was deleted quickly, and militants on a website affiliated with the Islamic State group disagreed about the message’s authenticity.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said government ministers were holding an emergency meeting about the new message. Kyodo News agency reported that the same video has been emailed to the wife of one of the hostages. Japan has scrambled for a way to secure the release of 47-year-old Kenji Goto, a journalist, and Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer fascinated by war.