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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Japan attempts to verify Isis hostage ‘beheading video’ | Japan attempts to verify Isis hostage ‘beheading video’ |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Japanese government is seeking to verify a video that suggests one of the two Japanese hostages kidnapped by Islamic State has been killed. | The Japanese government is seeking to verify a video that suggests one of the two Japanese hostages kidnapped by Islamic State has been killed. |
| In the video there is an audio recording of a man speaking in English, who says he is hostage Kenji Goto, over the top of a still image apparently showing him holding a photograph of the body of fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa. | In the video there is an audio recording of a man speaking in English, who says he is hostage Kenji Goto, over the top of a still image apparently showing him holding a photograph of the body of fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa. |
| The speaker claims that Yukawa had been executed and that the militants would release Goto in exchange for the release of a prisoner, Sajida Rishawi, an Iraqi held in Jordan who has been linked with al-Qaida. | |
| However, the post was quickly deleted and one militant writing on a website affiliated with Isis warned that the new message was fake. Another said that the message was intended only to go to Goto’s family. | However, the post was quickly deleted and one militant writing on a website affiliated with Isis warned that the new message was fake. Another said that the message was intended only to go to Goto’s family. |
| A third militant noted that the video was not issued by al-Furqan, which is one of the media arms of Isis and has issued past videos involving hostages and beheadings. The new message did not bear al-Furqan’s logo. | A third militant noted that the video was not issued by al-Furqan, which is one of the media arms of Isis and has issued past videos involving hostages and beheadings. The new message did not bear al-Furqan’s logo. |
| Previously Isis has posted rolling video of a hostage being killed to announce a death. | Previously Isis has posted rolling video of a hostage being killed to announce a death. |
| Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said ministers would meet to discuss the situation as the government gathered information. | Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said ministers would meet to discuss the situation as the government gathered information. |
| The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said the release of the message was “an outrageous and unforgivable act” and demanded the immediate release of the hostages. He later added that the government would spare no effort to secure Goto’s release and that it would not give in to terrorism. | |
| Isis had demanded $200m (£133m) from the Japanese government to release the two men. | Isis had demanded $200m (£133m) from the Japanese government to release the two men. |
| Yukawa, from Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, went to Syria to fight with rebels last year after a series of personal misfortunes. | Yukawa, from Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, went to Syria to fight with rebels last year after a series of personal misfortunes. |
| Goto is a respected author and freelance journalist who runs a small media company, and went to cover the Syrian conflict. | Goto is a respected author and freelance journalist who runs a small media company, and went to cover the Syrian conflict. |
| On Tuesday the two men appeared together in a 1 min 40 sec video released by Isis’s al-Furqan media outlet, entitled “A message to the government at the people of Japan”, which set a 72-hour deadline for the Japanese government to pay the ransom. | On Tuesday the two men appeared together in a 1 min 40 sec video released by Isis’s al-Furqan media outlet, entitled “A message to the government at the people of Japan”, which set a 72-hour deadline for the Japanese government to pay the ransom. |
| Standing between each hostage while they knelt on a hillside in a rocky desert, a British-sounding militant demanded $200m for both hostages, equating the value to that which, the militant said, Japan had given “to destroy the homes of the Muslims”. | Standing between each hostage while they knelt on a hillside in a rocky desert, a British-sounding militant demanded $200m for both hostages, equating the value to that which, the militant said, Japan had given “to destroy the homes of the Muslims”. |
| The Japanese government has stated that its multimillion-dollar aid package announced last week during a week-long government tour of the Middle East had been ring-fenced for humanitarian purposes only. | The Japanese government has stated that its multimillion-dollar aid package announced last week during a week-long government tour of the Middle East had been ring-fenced for humanitarian purposes only. |