ISIS Reportedly Executes One Japanese Hostage
Published at
zabelin/iStock/Thinkstock(TOKYO) — A purported ISIS video posted online on Saturday claims the terror group has beheaded one of two Japanese hostages and will execute the second unless an al Qaeda female prisoner is freed in Jordan.
Neither U.S. nor Japanese officials were able to immediately authenticate the video, which did not contain many of the high production techniques seen in earlier ISIS videos nor the typical branding for the terror group.
The video shows a still picture of Japanese television reporter Kenji Goto holding a photo of the beheaded body of Haruna Kuwana.
“You have seen the photo of my cellmate Haruna slaughtered in the land of the Islamic caliphate,” a voice that appears to be Goto narrates.
Clearly reading a message written for him, the voice says ISIS no longer is demanding a $200 million ransom but will free him if the female prisoner is released.
“They no longer want money, so you don’t need to worry about funding terrorists,” the voice says. “They are just demanding the release of their imprisoned sister, Sajida al-Rishawi. It is simple, You give them Sajida and I will be released.”
The message is an apparent reference to a woman who was sentenced to death in Jordan following a suicide bomb attack on a hotel in Amman in 2005 that killed at least 60 people attending a wedding.
The voice attributed to Goto on the video concludes, “These could be my last hours in this world and I may be a dead man speaking.”
The voice also pleads for Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to help him.
The voice also pleads for help from Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who called the alleged beheading “an outrageous and unforgivable act,” according to the Associated Press.
In a statement, the White House expressed its support of Japan.
“The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions and we call for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages,” read the statement.
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.