The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria released a new video Saturday with Japanese hostage Kenji Goto Jogo saying his fellow captive Haruna Yukawa had been executed.
The nearly three minute video, as reported by the monitoring group SITE, shows Jogo holding a picture of a beheaded Yukawa.
The Islamic State had previously threatened the lives of Jogo and Yukawa, and had been demanding a $200 million ransom from the Japanese government. After their 72-hour deadline expired, the Islamic State released the video, and shifted its demands from ransom to the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, a female suicide bomber held prisoner in Jordan.
“It is simple. You give them Sajida and I will be released,” Jogo said in the video. “At the moment, it actually looks possible and our government are indeed a stone throw away. How? Our government representatives are ironically in Jordan, where their sister Sajida is held prisoner by the Jordanian regime.”
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denounced the video Saturday as “an outrageous and unforgivable act of violence.” Suga said the government was working to determine the authenticity of the video.
U.S. intelligence officials are also working to confirm the video, the White House said in a statement, adding that it “strongly condemns” the actions of the Islamic State and calling for the “immediate release of all the remaining hostages.”
