Reports: ISIL video claims Japanese hostage beheaded

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Reports: ISIL video claims Japanese hostage beheaded The Islamic State has reportedly released a new video claiming that one of two Japanese hostages has been beheaded. While the Japanese government works to confirm its authenticity, at least one militant claims the message is fake.

The Islamic State reportedly released a new video Saturday claiming one of the two Japanese captives had been beheaded and issuing new demands for the other hostage's release.

In the video, Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto holds a photo that purportedly shows the dead body of the second hostage, Haruna Yukawa. SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based organization that monitors extremist websites, said the video had been distributed across several Islamic State-linked Twitter accounts.

The Japanese government said it is seeking to verify the video.

"Fully aware of unbearable pain and sorrow that his family must be feeling, I am simply left speechless," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after a late-night Cabinet meeting. "Such act of terrorism is outrageous and impermissible, which causes me nothing but strong indignation. Thus I express resolute condemnation."

The video could not be independently verified. SITE has reported on several Islamic State videos in the past that proved authentic. Kyodo News agency reported the same video had been e-mailed to the wife of one of the hostages.

Saturday afternoon, President Obama demanded the immediate release of Goto and all other remaining hostages. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Japan and applaud its commitment to peace and development in a region far from its shores," Obama said in a statement. "We will work together to bring the perpetrators of these murders to justice and will continue to take decisive action to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL."

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel added his condemnation and condolences. "ISIL's inhumanity stands in sharp contrast to the generous humanitarian aid Japan has provided to the Iraqi and Syrian people in recent months, and their continued barbarism only serves to strengthen our global coalition's shared resolve to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL," Hagel said.

Still, Patrick Ventrell, deputy spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said the intelligence community "is working to confirm its authenticity."

He said the U.S. strongly condemns Islamic State for its actions and called for the release of all remaining hostages. "The United States is fully supportive of Japan in this matter," he said. "We stand in solidarity with Japan and are coordinating closely."

The release of the video sparked claims and counterclaims on terrorist-related websites. It was notably different from previous videos in that it depicted a static shot of Goto holding a photo while the audio played. It did not show him speaking or moving.

One militant on an Islamic State-affiliated website warned that Saturday's new message was fake, while another said that the message was intended to go only to the Japanese journalist's family.

A third militant noted the video was not issued by al-Furqan, which is one of the media arms of the Islamic State group that has issued past videos involving hostages and beheadings. Saturday's message did not bear al-Furqan's logo.

The militants on the website post comments using pseudonyms, so their identities could not be independently confirmed. However, their confusion over the video matched that of Japanese officials and outside observers.

"I am Kenji Goto Jogo," the journalist is heard to say in the video, which was directed toward his family. "You have seen the photo of my cellmate, Haruna, slaughtered in the land of the Islamic Caliphate. You were warned. You were given a deadline, and so my captives acted upon their words."

The Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, had demanded a $200 million ransom for the release of the two men. The 72-hour deadline passed on Friday. Abe refused to pay a ransom.

In the video Saturday, Goto said the Islamic State had changed its ransom demand and no longer wanted money.

"Their demand is easier. They are being fair. They no longer want money. So you don't need to worry about funding terrorists. They are just demanding the release of their imprisoned sister Sajida al-Rishawi," he said.

Sajida al-Rishawi is a female suicide bomber dispatched by al-Qaeda in Iraq to attack a hotel in Jordan in 2005, SITE reported. She survived when her explosive belt failed to detonate. Al-Rishawi was arrested by Jordanian authorities at the time of the attack on the Radisson SAS hotel in Amman that killed 57 people, many of whom were at a wedding reception.

She was later shown on Jordanian TV confessing to participating in the attack, BBC reported. Jordanian police said she was the wife of one of three Iraqi male suicide bombers involved in the assault.

"My husband wore one (bomb) belt and I another — he told me how to use it," she said, explaining that he took one corner of the hotel and she took another.

"There was a wedding in the hotel. There were women and children," she said. "My husband executed the attack. I tried to detonate and it failed. I left. People started running and I started running with them."

Goto was abducted after entering Syria to search for Yukawa, the 42-year-old founder of a private security firm who was taken captive in August, according to reports on Japanese television.

In a video released Tuesday, both men were shown wearing orange clothing and kneeling in the desert on either side of a masked militant holding a knife.

Japanese media, citing unnamed officials, reported this week that Goto's wife had received an e-mail in December demanding a ransom of about $17 million. But Suga said there has been no direct contact with the militants.

The Islamic State has carried out previous threats, posting videos showing the beheading of American hostages James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British hostages David Haines and Alan Herring. Both the U.S. and Britain reject paying ransoms to free hostages.

Contributing: Gregg Zoroya; the Associated Press