Islamic State threatens to kill Japanese hostages

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Islamic State threatens Japanese hostages in new video On the heels of Japan's pledge to donate $200 million in non-military aid to countries fighting ISIS, a new video posted online depicts an Islamic State terrorist threatening the lives of two Japanese hostages.

The Islamic State threatened to kill two Japanese hostages Tuesday unless the militants receive a $200 million ransom in 72 hours.

In a video posted online, a black-clad, masked man with a British accent is shown standing between two hostages in orange jumpsuits who are identified as Kenji Goto Jogo and Haruna Yukawa.

Shortly after the video was released, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to save the hostages. "Their lives are the top priority," he said, speaking in Jerusalem during a six-day visit to the Middle East. "It is unforgivable. Extremism and Islam are completely different things."

The video has been identified as being made by the Islamic State group's al-Furqan media arm and was posted on militant websites associated with the extremist group.

The militant, who demands $100 million for each hostage, says the Japanese government has made the "foolish" decision to provide $200 million to fight the Islamic State, likely referring to money Abe pledged to help Iraq's government and aid Syrian refugees.

"To the prime minister of Japan: Although you are more than 8,000 and 500 kilometers (5,280 miles) from the Islamic State, you willingly have volunteered to take part in this crusade," the militant says. "You have proudly donated $100 million to kill our women and children, to destroy the homes of the Muslims … and in an attempt to stop the expansion of the Islamic State, you have also donated another $100 million to train the (apostates)."

The militant says the Japanese public has 72 hours to pressure the government to pay the $200 million to save the hostages' lives. Abe and other Japanese officials declined to say whether they would make the payment.

Yasuhide Nakayama, a deputy foreign minister, will travel to Jordan to seek the country's support and to resolve the hostage crisis, Abe said.Japanese officials will analyze the video to verify its authenticity.

"If true, the act of threat in exchange of people's lives is unforgivable and we feel strong indignation," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in Tokyo. "We will make our utmost effort to win their release as soon as possible."

The U.S. State Department, in a statement, said the U.S. "strongly condemns" the threat by the Islamic State militants "to murder Japanese citizens," and called for the immediate release of all hostages. "The United States is fully supportive of Japan in this matter. We stand in solidarity with Japan and are coordinating closely," the statement said.

Yukawa, 42, a private military company operator, was kidnapped in Syria in August after going there to train with militants, according to a post on a blog he kept. Pictures on his Facebook page show him in Iraq and Syria in July. One video on his page showed him holding a Kalashnikov assault rifle with the caption: "Syria war in Aleppo 2014."

"I cannot identify the destination," Yukawa wrote in his last blog post. "But the next one could be the most dangerous." He added: "I hope to film my fighting scenes during an upcoming visit."

Goto, 47, is a respected Japanese freelance journalist who went to report on Syria's civil war last year.

"I'm in Syria for reporting," he wrote in an e-mail to an Associated Press journalist in October. "I hope I can convey the atmosphere from where I am and share it."

The Islamic State group, also known as ISIL or ISIS, has beheaded and shot dead hundreds of captives — mainly Syrian and Iraqi soldiers — during its sweep across the two countries, and has celebrated its mass killings in extremely graphic videos.

A British-accented jihadi has appeared in the beheading videos of slain American hostages James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and with British hostages David Haines and Alan Henning.

The militants continue to hold British photojournalist John Cantlie, who has appeared in other extremist propaganda videos, and a 26-year-old American woman captured last year in Syria while working for aid groups. U.S. officials have asked that the woman not be identified out of fears for her safety.

The videos, threats and killings appear to be an attempt to thwart a U.S.-led coalition that is waging a military campaign against the group in Syria and Iraq.

The Islamic State has suffered recent losses in airstrikes by the coalition, and their revenue from selling stolen oil likely has dropped as well in the wake of falling oil prices. The extremists have also made money from extortion, illicit businesses and other criminal activity.

Recently, the militants released some 200 mostly elderly Yazidi hostages in Iraq, fueling speculation by Iraqi officials that the group didn't have the money to care for them.

Last week, the group released a video purporting to show a child executing two men accused of being Russian spies who tried to infiltrate the militant organization in Syria. The authenticity of the video, released by SITE Monitoring Service, could not be verified.

Contributing: The Associated Press