Report: Islamic State executes Japanese hostage
According to intelligence group, radical jihadists force one of two hostages to report his countryman's execution.
Twitter accounts linked to the Islamic State group shared a video on Saturday showing Kenji Goto Jogo – one of two Japanese nationals taken hostage by the Islamist radicals – announcing that his fellow countryman was executed, according to the intelligence group SITE.
The footage was released after a 72-hour deadline imposed by the jihadists passed, with Japan refusing to pay the $200 million ransom for the hostages.
Kenji Goto Jogo
SITE reported that the message was sent to Jogo's family and the Japanese government. In the video, Jogo relays the Islamic State group's latest demand.
The video contains a still image of Jogo holding what appears to be a picture of the beheaded hostage, Haruna Yukawa. According to Reuters, the Japanese government is currently authenticating the footage.
In the footage, Jogo tells the Japanese government they must secure the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist, from Jordan in order to save his life.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the apparent execution was "outrageous" and "unacceptable" and demanded the release of Kenji Goto.
According to the report, al-Rishawi participated in the 2005 bombing of an Amman hotel that left 38 dead, and has been sentenced to death by hanging after her capture by Jordanian authorities.