Video Said to Show Japanese Hostage's Beheading


The Japanese government says it is trying to authenticate a purported Islamic State video that shows the apparent beheading of hostage Kenji Goto.

The new video appeared on the Internet Saturday, two days after the latest deadline set by Islamic State militants demanding the release of an Iraqi prisoner.

The video shows a hooded man standing over Goto, holding a knife to the journalist's throat. It ends with a picture of a decapitated body.

A day earlier, Japanese Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama said in Amman, Jordan, that progress to secure the release of Jordanian pilot Mu'ath al-Kasaesbeh and journalist Goto "has become deadlocked."

Islamic State militants had threatened to kill Kasaesbeh if Jordan did not release Iraqi prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi by sunset Thursday.  Rishawi is on death row in Jordan for her role in a deadly 2005 bombing in Amman.

Jordan said it would release Rishawi only with proof that its pilot, whose jet crashed in Syria last month, was alive, and that no such evidence had been received.

A recorded voice warning of the threat to the Jordanian pilot was purported to be that of Japanese hostage Goto.

Goto's wife, Rinko, issued an emotional appeal late Thursday to both Tokyo and Amman to save her husband's life. But the audio recording, apparently released by the Islamic State, did not promise that either of the hostages would be released in exchange for Rishawi.

People in both Jordan and Japan took to the streets Friday to call for the hostages' safe return.

Kasaesbeh is believed to have been captured after his jet crashed in Syria during a bombing mission against Islamic State.  He is from an important Jordanian tribe that strongly supports the country's ruling Hashemite monarchy.

Public opinion polls have indicated there is opposition in Jordan to the country's involvement in the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State.

Several days ago, Islamic State released a video showing Goto holding pictures of another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, who had apparently been beheaded.  In the video, a man's voice, identifying himself as Goto, directly addresses Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, accusing him of responsibility for Yukawa's death.

Goto is believed to have been captured by Islamic State last year while trying to rescue Yukawa.

Abe, while on a recent tour of the Middle East, announced $200 million in nonmilitary aid for countries fighting Islamic State militants.

The Islamic State group threatened last week to behead the Japanese hostages unless it received a $200 million ransom.  The demand for money has not been repeated in recent statements.

The hostage crisis comes as Islamic State militants have captured large areas of Iraq and Syria, declaring the region a caliphate that all other Muslims should follow.

SOURCE: VOA News