THE ISLAMIC State released a video Saturday purportedly showing the beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and warning the Tokyo government of “carnage wherever your people are found.”
There was no immediate word on the fate of a second hostage, Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh.
The grim video of the apparent beheading of Goto was released via militant websites and bore the symbols of previous Islamic State tapes. It could not be immediately independently confirmed by USA TODAY.
SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based organization that monitors terrorist activity online, also reported on the video, which was released late Saturday.
The video shows a masked militant clad in black and brandishing a knife while Goto, wearing an orange jumpsuit, kneels in front of him. Speaking in British-accented English, the militant appears to be the same person seen in previous Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, videos and dubbed by Western terror analysts as “Jihad John.”
“To the Japanese government: You, like your foolish allies in the Satanic coalition, have yet to understand that we, by Allah’s grace, are an Islamic Caliphate with authority and power, an entire army thirsty for your blood,” the militant said.
At one point, he addressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe directly.
“Abe, because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin.”
In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed outrage Sunday over the video.
“I feel indignation over this immoral and heinous act of terrorism,” Abe told reporters after convening an emergency Cabinet meeting. He vowed that Japan will not give in to terrorism and will continue to provide humanitarian aid to countries fighting the Islamic State extremists.
Goto, 47, was captured in October after going into Syrian territory to try to secure the release of another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa. The well-known freelance journalist was shown in an Islamic State video last week holding a photo that purported to depict Yukawa’s body and included a demand of $200 million ransom for Goto’s own release.
U.S. officials said they were trying to confirm the authenticity of the latest video. (Doug Stanglin)
Link:http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/01/31/japan-jordan-islamic-state-hostage/22643137/
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