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ISIS Issues New Threat Against Hostages Jordan Hostage Crisis May Hurt U.S. Ties
(about 4 hours later)
AMMAN, Jordan — The Islamic State appeared to issue a new ultimatum Tuesday through an audio message giving the Jordanian government 24 hours or less to release a female terrorist, or else the militants would kill not only a Japanese hostage but also a captured Jordanian pilot. AMMAN, Jordan — In the hostage crisis unfolding in Jordan, the country’s so-far steadfast support for the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State may yet become collateral damage.
In the message, a man who said he was the Japanese hostage, the freelance journalist Kenji Goto, said that he had only 24 hours to live and that the pilot had even less time unless the Jordanians release the woman, Sajida al-Rishawi. Ms. Rishawi is on death row for her role in a devastating 2005 bomb attack in Jordan. Popular anger over Jordan’s role in the coalition bombing campaign in Syria burst into the open in recent days when it appeared that the fate of a captured Jordanian fighter pilot was taking a back seat to that of a Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto, also being held hostage by the militants.
“I’ve been told this is my last message, and I’ve also been told that the barrier of extracting my freedom is now just the Jordanian government delaying the handover of Sajida,” the message posted on Islamic State-linked Twitter accounts said, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that tracks jihadist propaganda. When a video that appeared to be of Mr. Goto surfaced online Tuesday, he was shown holding a photograph of the Jordanian pilot. Mr. Goto said they would both be killed by the Islamic State militants on Wednesday if Jordan did not give in to their demand to release an attempted suicide bomber from prison.
The message appeared to link Mr. Goto’s fate for the first time to that of the pilot, Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh, who was shot down over Syria a month ago while working as part of the American-led coalition’s air operations against the Islamic State. Lieutenant Kasasbeh’s fate has been closely followed in Jordan, with critics of the country’s participation in the coalition using it as evidence that Jordan had made a big mistake in joining the fight against the militants. The extremists seemed to be offering Mr. Goto his freedom in the deal, while all they were offering the pilot, First Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh, was his life, if that.
It was unclear whether the militants meant that the pilot would be released with Mr. Goto in return for Ms. Rishawi’s freedon or just that the pilot’s life would be spared. “I only have 24 hours left to live, and the pilot has even less,” Mr. Goto said in the videotape posted on Islamic State-linked Twitter accounts, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that tracks jihadist propaganda. “Any more delays by the Jordanian government will mean they’re responsible for the death of their pilot, which will then be followed by mine.”
A spokesman for the Jordanian military, speaking on condition of anonymity as a matter of policy, noted that the recording did not mention the possibility of the pilot’s release, “despite the fact they are threatening to kill both hostages together.” A terse Jordanian military communiqué noted that the Islamic State was not offering the pilot’s freedom, “despite the fact they are threatening to kill both hostages together.”
There was no official confirmation that the latest message was genuine; the Islamic State has issued confirmation of videos about hostages in the past. But the message was in the same style as the one that surfaced on Saturday showing the murder of another Japanese hostage; Islamic State officials eventually authenticated that video. The Jordanian military spokesman said the authorities were investigating the authenticity of the taped statement. The deadline of the latest threat was due to expire Wednesday afternoon, Jordanian time.
As with Saturday’s message, Tuesday’s was presented in a video that showed a still photo of Mr. Goto and included the audio track. The latest photo showed Mr. Goto in an orange jumpsuit holding a photograph of Lieutenant Kasasbeh. There was no official confirmation that the video released Tuesday was from the Islamic State, but its format resembled a video released of Mr. Goto over the weekend that the militants later confirmed was theirs. That video announced the death of another Japanese hostage.
Japanese and Jordanian officials have said they are working together on the release of the two men. Lieutenant Kasasbeh became the first coalition soldier to be taken prisoner by the Islamic State and, if killed, would be the first coalition fighter to have his life taken in the international intervention, which began with a bombing campaign in August. Three American soldiers have died from accidents and non-hostile causes, none of them in Syria.
Before their fates were linked, there was strong political support here for exchanging Ms. Rishawi to gain the pilot’s freedom. Many Jordanians have started saying that the fight with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, should not have concerned them in the first place. “This is not our war against ISIS,” said Hind al-Fayez, a member of Parliament. She added that if Lieutenant Kasasbeh “was an Israeli soldier or an American, everyone would be talking about his release, but he’s not.”
But on Saturday, after the Islamic State killed Haruna Yukawa, the other Japanese hostage, the militant group changed its original demand for ransom, saying it wanted instead to exchange Ms. Rishawi’s freedom for Mr. Goto’s. That led to widespread concern here that Japan would arrange for its own hostage’s freedom, but leave Jordan without any bargaining power on behalf of its pilot. The fate of the 26-year-old pilot had transfixed Jordan even before it was linked to that of Mr. Goto. Handsome and personable, Lieutenant Kasasbeh was well-regarded by the American military members who worked with him. He comes from a powerful tribe in the city of Karak, raising the domestic political risks in the case.
Ms. Rishawi was convicted of being one of four suicide bombers who struck three hotels in Amman in 2005, killing more than 57 people, at the behest of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Her explosive vest failed to detonate, and she was later apprehended and sentenced to death for her role in the attack. King Abdullah visited Lieutenant Kasasbeh’s family the day after his plane went down in late December. The militants later disseminated humiliating pictures of the lieutenant, naked from the waist down, that caused widespread anger in Jordan.
Ms. Rishawi is Iraqi, and her family comes from a tribe in Anbar Province, where Al Qaeda in Iraq was entrenched in 2005 and where the Islamic State now holds sway. A cloak of secrecy dropped over the case in Jordan, but his family said it had been expecting Lieutenant Kasasbeh to be released in exchange for Sajida al-Rishawi, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2006 for her role in an attack on Amman hotels in 2005 that killed more than 57 people and is known locally as Jordan’s 9/11. (While three co-conspirators died, including Ms. Rishawi’s husband, her explosive vest failed to detonate.)
Mr. Goto’s message on Tuesday sounded pessimistic. In an apparent reference to continuing negotiations with Jordan, he said: “Any more delaying tactics will simply see both of us getting killed. The ball is now in the Jordanian court.” It was not clear why there might be less time for the pilot. But last week, the extremists changed their demands for Mr. Goto’s release, saying he could go free in exchange for Ms. Rishawi — but making no mention of Lieutenant Kasasbeh.
Addressing his wife and the people and government of Japan, Mr. Goto said, “Tell the Japanese government to put all their political pressure on Jordan.” “That’s exactly what they wanted to do, put Jordan in an impossible position,” said a well-connected Jordanian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because officials have been banned from commenting on the case publicly. Making the deal to release the Japanese journalist would undermine popular support in Jordan for the war against the Islamic State. Not making it would probably cost both men’s lives and also hurt support. “It’s a win-win for the Islamic State,” the official said.
Japan is a major foreign aid donor to Jordan, and has pledged $150 million to help Syrian refugees in Jordan, according to Ali Bani Ata, a member of Parliament and head of the Japan Jordan Friendship Association. The top government spokesman in Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, made a brief statement early Wednesday saying that Japan would continue to request Jordan’s cooperation in winning the release of Mr. Goto. Complicating matters, Japan is one of Jordan’s biggest aid donors and has promised $150 million to help the huge number of Syrian refugees in the country.
A Jordanian official with military contacts, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, said that Japan and Jordan now have a joint operations room in Amman and have been working hand-in-hand on negotiating the release of Mr. Goto and Lieutenant Kasasbeh. Bassam al-Manaseer, head of the international affairs committee in Parliament, said the war against the Islamic State was not Jordan’s and warned of a strong backlash if the country made any deal for the Japanese hostage’s freedom that did not include the release of Lieutenant Kasasbeh. Like many Jordanians, Mr. Manaseer did not challenge the idea of making a swap that gave Ms. Rishawi her freedom so long as the pilot was set free.
Tensions in Jordan over the hostage crisis grew over the weekend when Mr. Yukawa was killed. King Abdullah has been a strong supporter of the international coalition against the Islamic State. His country is one of six Arab nations fighting with the United States in Syria, and one of only four Arab states engaging in airstrikes.
If the pilot “was an Israeli soldier or an American, everyone would be talking about his release, but he’s not,” Hind al-Fayez, a member of Parliament, said, adding that Jordan’s leaders are to blame for getting involved in the war against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Domestic criticism of that has been muted, in part because of the frequent jailing of those who criticize Jordanian policy, but that changed in recent days.
“This is not our war against ISIS,” she said. On Tuesday night, a crowd of several hundred in Amman chanted slogans criticizing the king, a crime, and supporting Lieutenant Kasasbeh’s release.
Bassam al-Manaseer, head of the international affairs committee in Parliament, warned of a strong political backlash if Jordan made any deal for the Japanese hostage’s freedom that did not include the release of the pilot. Japanese and Jordanian officials said they were working together to win the safe release of both men.
Like many Jordanians, Mr. Manaseer did not challenge the idea of making a swap that gave Ms. Rishawi her freedom, so long as the pilot was set free. While he thought a deal was still possible, he added, “We are scared that ISIS is planning to kill him anyway.” Mr. Goto’s latest message was addressed to his government and his wife. “Tell the Japanese government to put all their political pressure on Jordan,” he said. “Any more delaying tactics will simply see both of us getting killed.”
Many Jordanians have questioned why there was apparently no rescue operation after Lieuteant Kasasbeh’s jet was downed and he parachuted into a reservoir. He reportedly spent at least an hour floating there until the extremists found him. Among the protesters on Tuesday were Lieutenant Kasasbeh’s father and mother. “When he joined the air force, I expected him to defend Jordan, but not to go fight in another country,” his mother said. “This is not our business being there.”
Mr. Goto’s message repeatedly stressed the short remaining deadline, which would apparently expire sometime Wednesday afternoon in Jordan.
“It is me for her. What seems to be so difficult to understand?” the message said. “She has been a prisoner for a decade, and I’ve only been a prisoner for a few months. Her for me. A straight exchange. Any more delays by the Jordanian government will mean they’re responsible for the death of their pilot, which will then be followed by mine.”