ISIS beheads Japanese hostage – reports

MANILA, Philippines – The Islamic State (ISIS) group beheaded Haruna Yukawa, one of its two Japanese hostages, according to various reports.

CNN cited a video showing surviving hostage Kenji Goto holding a photo showing his colleague already beheaded.

The video was posted online by an known ISIS supporter. The ISIS made new demands, according to the report.

The ISIS last week made the threat  to kill the two Japanese hostages unless it receives a $200 million ransom within 72 hours, but Tokyo vowed  it would not give in to “terrorism.” 

Japan’s government said Saturday it was attempting to verify the video.

“A new video apparently showing Kenji (Goto) was posted on the Internet,” chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said. “We are collecting information”.

In the video, Goto appears to be alive. The government however is checking the video for images suggesting that the second hostage, Haruna Yukawa, has been killed by his captors.

The video was not posted on any of the jihadist group’s official channels. It also does not bear the IS group’s black and white flag, nor is the purported execution of Haruna Yukawa shown live.

Several supporters of the IS on social media channels have contested the veracity of the video, while Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said negotiations for the two men’s release are still ongoing. – with reports from Agence France Presse/Rappler.com