Second Japanese hostage 'beheaded' by ISIL

Journalist Kenji Goto shown being beheaded in new video released by the armed group, SITE Intel monitoring group says.

 

The Japanese government said it was trying to authenticate the video [Reuters]

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has released a video purportedly showing the killing of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, a monitoring service has said.
The video released online by the armed group on Saturday shows the journalist who was abducted while reporting on Syria's civil war last year being beheaded with a knife by a black-clad masked fighter.
Addressing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the ISIL member 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."
Abe addressed the nation shortly after the move, condemning the "horrendeous" killing and saying that the government tried its best to save the hostage.
"Japan will not be defeated by terrorism," he said.
Meanwhile, the United States said it was working to confirm the authenticity of the video.
"We have seen the video purporting to show that Japanese citizen Kenji Goto has been murdered by the terrorist group ISIL," Bernadette Meehan, White House National Security Council spokeswoman, said in a statement.
"We are working to confirm its authenticity. The United States strongly condemns ISIL's actions and we call for the immediate release of all remaining hostages. We stand in solidarity with our ally Japan," Meehan added.
Mother of another hostage, Jordanian pilot First Leutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh, urged ISIL to release her son.
"I call upon the Islamic State group, I appeal to our brothers among them, from one Muslim addressing another, from a distressed mother's heart who is in sorrow for missing her beloved son," said Om Jawad al-Kasasbeh in an interview with Al Jazeera.
"I appeal to you tell us about Moaz’s wellbeing and I ask you to be kind in how you treat him and to release him. I beg you, I ask you to show him mercy."
Japanese hostage
Kenji was a freelance journalist who had reported from war zones for more than 20 years, in Africa, Afghanistan and the Middle East.
He travelled to Syria, at least in part, to attempt a rescue of his friend Haruna Yukawa, who was captured by ISIL in August.
Haruna was a self-styled military consultant who went to Syria to set up a security company, despite a lack of any experience.
In October, Kenji was captured by ISIL and was held captive alongside his friend. ISIL demanded a $200m ransom for the two men.
But last week, the armed group released a video. In it, there was an image of Kenji, chained by the wrist, and in his hands a photograph of his friend Haruna, who had been killed.
ISIL has beheaded and shot dead hundreds of captives - mainly Syrian and Iraqi soldiers - during its sweep across the two countries, and has celebrated its mass killings in extremely graphic videos.
The group also beheaded James Foley and Peter Kassig, American hostages; Steven Sotloff, an Israeli-American; and David Haines and Alan Henning, British captives.