Islamic State says it has beheaded second Japanese hostage Goto
By Sylvia Westall and William Mallard | Reuters – 9 hours agoBy Sylvia Westall and William Mallard
BEIRUT/TOKYO (Reuters) - Islamic State militants said on Saturday they had beheaded a second Japanese hostage, journalist Kenji Goto, after the failure of international efforts to secure his release through a prisoner swap.
The hardline Islamist group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq, released a video which seemed to show the beheaded body of Goto and threatened further attacks on Japanese targets. Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the video appeared to be genuine.
Islamic State had said Goto, 47, was held along with a Jordanian pilot. Efforts to win their release had focused on the possible release of an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber jailed in Jordan 10 years ago. The video did not mention the pilot.
Japan condemned the actions of the militants and said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet would meet in response to the video, which showed a hooded man standing over Goto with a knife to his throat, followed by footage of a head put on the back of a human body.
The video was released exactly a week after footage appearing to show the beheaded body of another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa.
"I feel strong indignation at this inhumane and contemptible act of terrorism," a grim-faced Abe said in brief remarks to reporters in Japan. "I will never forgive these terrorists."
"Japan will work with the international community to bring those responsible for this crime to justice," Abe added, reiterating that Japan would not give in to terrorism.
President Barack Obama said the United States condemned the "heinous murder" and would continue to work with allies to destroy the hardline Islamist group.
Britain also condemned the killing.
Islamic State's threats to kill the group's Japanese hostages were issued after Abe announced earlier this month $200 million in non-military aid for countries contending with Islamic State.
Addressing Abe, the militant in the video said: "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."
NO WORD ON PILOT
The militant had the same British accent as the man featured in previous Islamic State videos showing beheadings. Goto wore an orange jumpsuit like Islamic State captives in past footage.
The landscape in the video showed a hill and land covered in scrub, and appeared different to the desert setting of previous videos.
Abe's government had put high priority on seeking the release of Goto, a veteran war correspondent captured by the militants in late October when he went to Syria seeking Yukawa's release. Yukawa, 42, was seized by militants in August after going to Syria to launch a security company.
Goto's mother Junko Ishido, who earlier had appealed for his safe release, said, "I am too upset to find the words to express myself. My son's last act was to go to Syria to help a fellow Japanese (Yukawa). So I want people to understand my son's kindness and courage."
Goto’s older brother, Junichi Goto, said, "I had hoped to give thanks for his return alive. But, as his brother, this outcome is very regrettable.”
Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda, has beheaded a number of Western journalists and aid workers, saying they were paying the price for their governments' fight against the group.It has also killed many local people, through beheadings, stonings and shootings, accusing them of violating their hardline interpretation of Islamic law.
There was no mention in the one-minute video of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh who was seized by Islamic State after his jet crashed in northeast Syria in December during a bombing mission against the militants.
An audio message that appeared to be from Goto earlier this week said Kasaesbeh would be killed if Jordan did not free Iraqi Sajida al-Rishawi, in jail for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in the Jordanian capital Amman.
WAR CORRESPONDENT
Goto began working as a full-time war correspondent in 1996 and had established a reputation as a careful and reliable operator for Japanese broadcasters, including NHK.
In October, Goto's wife had a baby, the couple's second child. He had an older daughter from a previous marriage, people who know the family said.
Yukawa was captured in August outside the Syrian city of Aleppo. Friends say Goto traveled from Tokyo to Istanbul and from there to Syria, sending a message on Oct. 25 that he had crossed the border and was safe.
"Whatever happens, this is my responsibility," Goto said on a video recorded shortly before he set out for Raqqa. That was the last time he was seen before an Islamic State video released on Jan. 20 appearing to show both Japanese men and threatening to kill them unless the group received $200 million in ransom.
(Additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Yuya Shino; Writing by Dominic Evans and Will Dunham; Editing by Alison Williams and Frances Kerry)
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829users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down5users disliked this commentRamjet • 12 hours ago Report Abuse 77 Replies -
Happycat • Report Abuse
This terrorist known to the world as jihad John is nothing more than a cowardly killer just as the rest of the ISIS militants are. Officials know who he is and have undercover people trying to track him down and kill him. He deserves nothing less than to be hanged and tarred and feathered in front of the rest of his merciless clan. His capture is not happening fast enough.
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Through his brutal beheadings of innocent people, he has proved nothing to the rest of the world except what a coward he is. Uncover your self and show the world what the face of a coward looks like. -
Givemeabreak • Report Abuse
Syria acted wisely in demanding proof their pilot was still alive. No one has seen him lately and he surely did not look in very good shape in at least one photo released. It is regrettably sad that civilians who chose to expose themselves to danger, by working in that region, are being kidnapped and executed. They did go there knowing the danger though, and should not depend on anyone to bail them out if they are taken prisoner. Perhaps this is where governments need to announce that their non military countrymen who choose to endanger themselves do so at their own risk and can expect no rescue. If no demands will be met, then kidnapping civilians will no longer be a way for the terrorists to get what they want. Not playing their game is a way to end it.
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sus100 • Report Abuse
No surprise.... and for all the feminist slant in the media today, maybe it's worth pointing out that it's only males that the Islamic State will murder and brutalize. Of course no media outlet can ever make gender an issue when males are the victims, but maybe it's worth keeping in mind that everyone, regardless of their gender, can be the victims.... It seems silly to have to say that, but I can't even imagine the gender based hysteria if they killed any women.
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xxxx • Report Abuse
This is nothing more and nothing less than a mad group of evil killers. Any message they had hoped to get across is 100% lost the moment they on purpose took a life especially in such a vicious way. Any so-called human being who willingly joins them knowing what they have done in my opinion has lost their mind. Why all the countries in the world are not gathering together to destroy this insane group just does not make any sense. Stop messing around and be done with them already!
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Predator1 • Report Abuse
Don't these fools know that we will not bow down to fear---we will track them to the end of the world to kill them.
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I just wish the Muslims themselves would solve this problem, but they have been fighting each other for centuries to no avail, so there is not much hope there.
I am starting to believe what a friend told me the other day. QUOTE " The radical Muslims cut off your head---the conservative Muslims hold you down while the radicals do it." -
Suzs • Report Abuse
The media needs to stop giving these sub-humans the attention they want. Their spotlight on television is the only source of success these bacteria will ever achieve in their lifetimes. They will never be significant enough in numbers to achieve a large event of terror because they know once they crawl up from underneath of the ground to the surface the government can dismantle them easier. These are peripheral cowards whose only achievement has been to murder innocent victims as they cling to that pathetic moment of hearing their organization be made into a thing of fear by media outlets throughout the world.
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Izzy • Report Abuse
There is no negotiations for a people who use religion as a tool and in their minds are right no matter what anyone says. They are convinced that terror and horrific murder is a way to punish everyone. who are they to judge others, who are they to kill innocent people, they praise and do everything in the name of their god. The Europeans when they first came to our native lands did the same thing to the indigenous peoples here showing no mercy and using religion as their power and authority to kill away cultures. This is history repeating itself all over and over and changes groups as decades pass. We had to assimilate to white and Spanish cultures loosing our languages and traditional ways and we still struggle to survive as a people. Religion is what these people hide behind and are protected in a political rights loophole and will keep recycling like plastic that comes back as a milk jug in a grocery store. There is no way out from these groups, there is no talking to a people who don't listen, they hate us, they want us all dead, our children, our families, the innocent,. real demons and monsters exist! they call us devils because in their eyes they are not in the wrong. Nobody likes to hear this but we need to bomb the #$%$ out of these people until there is no more plastic to recycle and just melt it all,..
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Nik • Report Abuse
The world has become so sterile and so politically correct in the way we handle even murderers.
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Words from politicians like "we condemn" or "we disapprove" are the play of the day.
Would you say that if a murderer decapitates one of your family that you strongly disapprove of his actions or will you take much more drastic and decisive action against this murderer?
There was a time man were man enough to dig in and just say we'll destroy you if you touch one of us.
This is precisely why ISIS and all the other terrorist groups have gotten bigger and more confident. And that is because they know that politicians don't have the will or courage to do the necessary just not to be seen as uncivilised. -
psbdo • Report Abuse
Nothing like the liberals that watch this video, somewhat denounce it, and then blame Western countries for the Western military influence in the middle east as the SOLE reason that these beheadings are happening. Rather than formulate a solution to the problem, like push for much more aggressive coalition ground troops to take this country by storm, they say that we should stop meddling in the middle east and problem solved LOL.
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Well, it's too freaking late for that tactic! As long as we buy oil from the middle east, we have an influence there in some regard. We also fought a war that probably went too far in involving Iraq, but that's water under the bridge. We didn't make it better by removing troops from Iraq and we are just letting the problem fester by not putting together a better military plan to rid the area of these terrorists. These countries need help to establish unity and democracy. It must be pushed for now as time will begin to change these people, much like Egypt with Sisi in power and in alliance with the Saudis and even Israel. Promote democracy until the day we all die. Promote freedom and women and gay rights. These dark age governments must end. it's that simple.
