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Post by Admin on Jan 25, 2015 22:35:15 GMT
A video message released Saturday by Islamic State militants claimed the terrorists killed one of the two Japanese hostages being held in Syria. Japanese officials said they were investigating the alleged message from ISIS that claimed one hostage had been slaughtered and demanded a prisoner exchange for the other. A 72-hour deadline and a request for $200 million set earlier in the week by the extremist group expired Friday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the new message, which was quickly deleted after being posted on YouTube, “an outrageous and unforgivable act.” The short video featured an audio recording of kidnapped journalist Kenji Goto claiming that his fellow captive Haruna Yukawa had been killed. “We feel strong indignation, and vehemently condemn the act,”Abe said. The Jordanian prisoner the terrorists want released is Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman who attempted blow herself up at a wedding party at a Radisson Hotel in Amman in 2005. Kyodo News agency reported that the video had been emailed to the wife of one of the hostages. President Obama, en route to India, condemned the “brutal murder” in a statement and offered his support in the wake of the frightening message. “Our condolences today are with the people of Japan for their terrible loss,” Obama said in the statement. There were no other details about the death. ISIS released a video on Tuesday featuring both 47-year-old Goto and Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer wearing orange jumpsuits next to a hooded gunman. The militant in the video threatened to behead both captives if the $200 million ransom was not met.
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Post by Admin on Jan 27, 2015 22:55:20 GMT
A video file posted online Tuesday purports to relay a new message from Japanese ISIS hostage Kenji Goto: He and a captive Jordanian military pilot will be killed in the next 24 hours if Jordan doesn't release a convicted would-be suicide bomber. It is the second purported message from Goto in four days. If authentic, it is the first time ISIS is publicly linking the fates of Goto and the captive Jordanian pilot, Moaz al-Kassasbeh, whom ISIS captured after his jet crashed last month in Syria. The latest file, posted Tuesday morning to YouTube and distributed on social media by known ISIS supporters, appears to show a static image of Goto, alone, in handcuffs and wearing orange, holding a picture of who appears to be al-Kassasbeh. Over the image, a voice purporting to be Goto's restates Saturday's apparent ISIS proposal: Goto would go free if Jordan releases longtime prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi. This time, it's still a one-for-one swap, but now both the lives of Goto and the Jordanian pilot are threatened if it doesn't go through. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of Tuesday's message. "I've been told this is my last message, and I've also been told that the barrier obstructing my freedom is now just the Jordanian government delaying the handover of Sajida," the voice says in English in Tuesday's post. "Tell the Japanese government to put all the political pressure on Jordan." The nearly two-minute video, posted Tuesday morning ET, makes no mention of releasing pilot al-Kassasbeh, even if al-Rishawi is released. The video is similar to a post from Saturday, which alleged that ISIS had killed a different Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa. Saturday's post shows a static image of Goto, holding what appears to be a photo of beheaded compatriot Yukaka. A voice, purporting to be Goto's, says that Yukawa was killed because Japan hadn't answered a previous ISIS demand of $200 million for the Japanese captives' freedom.
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Post by Admin on Jan 28, 2015 22:51:35 GMT
Jordan offered Wednesday to exchange a female jihadist for a Jordanian pilot held by the Islamic State group, whose deadline for executing the airman and a Japanese journalist is thought to have passed. Hours later, Amman and Tokyo both anxiously awaited news on the fate of the men, as Japan's foreign minister said the situation remained "severe". Jordan's offer came after the hostages' parents made last-ditch pleas for their lives ahead of the IS deadline for the release of the woman, a would-be suicide bomber. "Jordan is ready to release the prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot is freed unharmed," state television quoted a government spokesman as saying. "From the start, the position of Jordan was to ensure the safety of our son, the pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh," it added. It made no mention of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. In a video released Tuesday, IS threatened to kill Kassasbeh and Goto unless Rishawi was freed within 24 hours. The Japanese government said earlier it believed the IS deadline would expire at around 1400 GMT Wednesday. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh wrote on Twitter shortly before 1500 GMT that his country was still awaiting confirmation that the pilot was safe. Goto's mother, Junko Ishido, was at Japan's parliament Wednesday in a failed bid to meet Abe. After being refused an appointment, she issued a plea for her son's life through assembled media. "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe," Ishido said. "Please continue your utmost efforts in negotiating with the Jordanian government until the last minute. There is not much time left." Her anguish was mirrored in Jordan where Kassasbeh's father and several dozen members of the family's Karak tribe demonstrated outside government headquarters in Amman late Tuesday. "We have only one request, Maaz's return at any price," Safi Kassasbeh was quoted by media as saying. After initially setting a $200 million (144 million euro) ransom for Yukawa and Goto's release, IS, which rules swathes of Syria and Iraq with an extreme form of Islam, changed tack and demanded Jordan free Rishawi. In the latest video, respected war reporter Goto is seen holding a photograph of Kassasbeh, while a voiceover, purportedly spoken by the Japanese hostage, warns Jordan is blocking his release. However, any suggestion of a swap will likely face resistance from the United States.
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Post by Admin on Jan 31, 2015 22:38:37 GMT
Islamic State (IS) has released a video which appears to show the beheading of a second Japanese hostage. Freelance journalist Kenji Goto Jogo, 47, is seen kneeling in front of the British-accented figure known as Jihadi John before gruesome footage of his decapitated corpse is shown. It comes less than a week after news of the beheading of another Japanese man, Haruna Yukawa. IS had demanded a 200 million US dollars (£130m) ransom for the two men. Speaking to the camera, the masked man says: "To the Japanese government: You, like your foolish allies in the Satanic coalition, have yet to understand that we, by Allah's grace, are an Islamic Caliphate with authority and power, an entire army thirsty for your blood. "(Prime Minister of Japann Shinzo) Abe, because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin." Japan's deputy foreign minister, Yasuhide Nakayama, said yesterday that efforts to free Mr Goto were "in a state of deadlock". Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe has condemned the apparent killing of Kenji Goto and vowed that his country will not give into terrorism. "I feel strong indignation at this inhumane and contemptible act of terrorism. I will never forgive these terrorists. Japan will work with the international community to bring those responsible for this crime to justice." A spokesman for the Japanese government has condemned a video released by Islamic State extremists which appears to show journalist hostage Kenji Goto being beheaded.
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Post by Admin on Feb 1, 2015 22:33:54 GMT
The family of the Japanese ISIS hostage who appeared in a video allegedly showing his beheading by British militant Jihadi John has paid tribute to his memory. The mother and brother of journalist Kenji Goto, 47, spoke of their loss following confirmation that he had passed away, although the authenticity of the video has yet to be proven. This comes as the Jordanian government has pledged to do 'everything it can' to save the pilot thought to still be held hostage by ISIS militants. 'Kenji has died, and my heart is broken. Facing such a tragic death, I'm just speechless,' Goto's mother Junko Ishido told reporters, adding that her son's death showed he was a kind gentle man, trying to save another hostage. 'I was hoping Kenji might be able to come home,' said Goto's brother, Junichi Goto, in a separate interview. 'I was hoping he would return and thank everyone for his rescue, but that's impossible, and I'm bitterly disappointed.' Jordan said on Friday that it will only release Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber currently on death row, if it gets proof Mr al-Kaseasbeh is alive. Mr al-Momeni also condemned the murder of Japanese journalist Mr Goto after days of intensive efforts through intermediaries to save him. 'We spared no effort, in coordination with the Japanese government, to save his life,' Momeni said. Mr al-Kaseasbeh's father, Safi al-Kassasbeh, today denounced the killing of Mr Goto saying the Jordanian 'government is responsible' for his son's fate. Members of the al-Kaseasbeh tribe held a candlelight vigil in his home town of Karak, Jordan on Saturday, carrying posters with 'we are all Mu'adh,' written in Arabic. An uncle of the pilot, Yassin Rawashda, said early Sunday that 'we want the government to tell us the truth.' He says the family also wants to know which direction negotiations are headed. The government is also under domestic pressure to win the release of Mr al-Kaseasbeh, the first foreign pilot to be captured by ISIS since a U.S.-led military coalition began carrying out air strikes in Iraq and Syria in September.
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