Islamic State demands $200M for hostages
The British fighter known as “Jihadi John” Tuesday gave Japan 72 hours to pay a $200-million US ransom for two men kidnapped by Islamic State in northern Syria in a twist to his gruesome series of propaganda videos.
The two hostages, Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, were shown wearing Guantanamo Baystyle orange jumpsuits beside the black-clad figure of Jihadi John.
He referred to a pledge made by the Japanese government of $200 million to countries affected by Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which he called a donation to the killing of women and children, and said it should now pay a matching $100 million each to save the two men.
“You now have 72 hours to pressure your government in making a wise decision by paying the $200 million to save the lives of your citizens,” he said, addressing the Japanese public.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was travelling in the Middle East, vowed to save the men. But with his military only operating in a self-defence capacity at home, Abe faces a hard choice: openly pay the extremists or ask an ally like the United States to attempt a risky rescue inside Syria.
Jihadi John, whose real identity has never been confirmed, was the central figure in the series of videos that showed the beheading of the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and American aid worker Peter Kassig.
He last appeared in November in a video showing him standing with the severed head of Kassig. The video also showed him leading a mass decapitation of about 20 captured Syrian soldiers and airmen.
Japan gave a mixed response to the new video, insisting that saving the lives of the two men was its immediate priority, but also pledging not to bow to the demands.
“I strongly demand that they not be harmed and that they be immediately released,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in Jerusalem while on a visit to the Middle East, which he cut short to deal with the crisis. “The international community will not give in to any form of terrorism and we have to make sure that we work together.”
That appeared to suggest he would stand with Japan’s close ally, the U.S., which, like Britain, refuses to countenance paying ransoms for hostages.
The video marked the first time Islamic State has publicly demanded money: in the case of the British and American hostages, Jihadi John demanded an end to their government’s military intervention against the militants. The group had already entered into secret negotiations for a ransom over Goto, a journalist who was seized after venturing into Islamic State-held territory.