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IS hostages: Jordan in pilot exchange offer after Goto video IS hostages: Jordan offers prisoner for captured airman
(about 5 hours later)
Jordan says it is willing to hand over an Iraqi woman on death row in exchange for a Jordanian pilot being held by Islamic State (IS) militants. The authorities in Jordan have offered to free a Iraqi prisoner for a Jordanian pilot held by Islamic State after the group threatened to kill the pilot and another hostage.
The offer comes ahead of a 24-hour deadline by IS to kill Moaz al-Kasasbeh and Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. On Tuesday, IS published a video where a man claiming to be Japanese captive Kenji Goto said Jordan had 24 hours to free the prisoner.
The ultimatum came in a video aired on Tuesday, days after IS said it had killed a Japanese man, Haruna Yukawa. It had demanded a $200m (£130m) ransom. Otherwise both he and Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh would die, he said.
Sajida al-Rishawi is an al-Qaeda militant sentenced to death in Jordan. Earlier, IS said it had killed another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa.
She was convicted for her involvement in a 2005 attack that killed 60 people. It had demanded a $200m (£130m) ransom but there was no mention of the ransom in the new video.
"Jordan is ready to release prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot Lt Moaz al-Kasasbeh was released and his life spared," Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said, according to Jordanian state television. IS has sparked fear and outrage over the past year with its brutal tactics, which include publicly putting to death journalists and soldiers.
He did not mention Kenji Goto. Jordan has taken part in US-led coalition air strikes against the group, which began in August. Moaz al-Kasasbeh was captured on 24 December after his plane crashed in northern Syria.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had described the new IS video threat as "despicable" and said Japan was working with Jordan to secure the hostages' release. It is hard to see how IS would let both hostages go, BBC world affairs correspondent Paul Adams reports.
In the footage that emerged on Tuesday, a voice believed to be Mr Goto says he has "only 24 hours left to live" and Jordanian hostage Moaz al-Kasasbeh "even less" unless Jordan releases Sajida al-Rishawi. There is no mention of a ransom payment. That leaves Japan and Jordan in a macabre contest, not of their own making, to get their citizens back, our correspondent says.
Demand for proof
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said his country was ready to release Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi al-Qaeda militant sentenced to death in Jordan, if Lt Kasasbeh was released and his life spared.
The spokesman did not mention Kenji Goto.
Separately, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judah said his country had asked IS for proof that the captured pilot was "alive and safe".
Rishawi was convicted in relation to bomb attacks in the Jordanian capital, Amman, in 2005, which killed 60 people.
She was caught with an unexploded suicide bomb belt and confessed to planning an attack with her husband, who was killed.
In the new video, the man who appears to be Kenji Goto says: "Her for me. A straight exchange." There was no indication IS would free the Jordanian pilot, too.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the new IS video threat as "despicable" and said Japan was working with Jordan to secure the hostages' release.
Kenji Goto, 47, is a well-known freelance journalist and documentary film-maker who went to Syria in October, reportedly to try to secure the release of fellow Japanese national Haruna Yukawa.Kenji Goto, 47, is a well-known freelance journalist and documentary film-maker who went to Syria in October, reportedly to try to secure the release of fellow Japanese national Haruna Yukawa.
Mr Goto's mother appealed publicly to the prime minister to help her son.
"Please save him," she said. "Kenji has only a little time left."
Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondentAnalysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
The deal being offered by IS, whether genuine or not, goes right to the heart of the universal dilemma over hostage-taking. Do you give in to demands to win the release of your loved ones?The deal being offered by IS, whether genuine or not, goes right to the heart of the universal dilemma over hostage-taking. Do you give in to demands to win the release of your loved ones?
The Jordanian authorities, who were given a final 24 hours on Tuesday to make this decision, found themselves in a dreadful position. IS wants the release of a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist from Iraq. To release her could be seen as giving in to terrorism.The Jordanian authorities, who were given a final 24 hours on Tuesday to make this decision, found themselves in a dreadful position. IS wants the release of a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist from Iraq. To release her could be seen as giving in to terrorism.
Yet at the same time many Jordanians don't support their country's role in US-led air strikes on IS positions. They want their captured pilot to come home alive and for Jordan to stay out of the fight against IS. Yet at the same time many Jordanians do not support their country's role in US-led air strikes on IS positions. They want their captured pilot to come home alive and for Jordan to stay out of the fight against IS.
A video appeared on Sunday apparently showing Mr Goto holding a picture of what appeared to be the body of Mr Yukawa. On Tuesday night, several hundred relatives and supporters of the Jordanian pilot held a protest outside the prime minister's office in Amman, demanding he meet IS demands.
On Tuesday night, several hundred relatives and supporters of the Jordanian pilot held a protest outside the prime minister's office in Amman, demanding he meet the IS demands. Mr Kasasbeh's father, Safi al-Kasasbeh, told BBC News he did not agree with Jordan being part of the anti-IS coalition.
Mr Kasasbeh's father, Safi al-Kasasbeh, told the Associated Press news agency: "The safety of Moaz means the stability of Jordan, and the death of Moaz means chaos in Jordan." "When Moath joined the air force he did not join to fight outside Jordan," he said. "He thought he was a Jordanian pilot to defend Jordanian airspace. We never knew that we will be joining other countries to fight outside the Jordanian borders."
Who are Islamic State (IS)?Who are Islamic State (IS)?