(dpa) - A video released Saturday purportedly shows an image of the body of one of two Japanese hostages after members of the Islamic State jihadist group beheaded him following Japan's decision not to meet a ransom deadline.
The message, posted on jihadist sites, consists of a still photo of Japanese national Kenji Goto holding a photo of the seemingly headless body of co-hostage Haruna Yakawa, along with an audio message.
In the video, Goto appears to plead for his life, saying his captors no longer wanted money for his release .Instead, the radical group will release him in exchange for Sajidaal-Rishawa, a jihadist jailed in Jordan for a failed 2005 suicide bombing.
"These could be my last words. Don't let these be my last words youever hear," Goto allegedly says in English. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reacted angrily to the news,reported the Kyodo news agency.
"It's outrageous," Abe told reporters. "It's an unforgivable act of violence.
We demand an immediate release."Abe further said that Japan would never bow to terrorist demands and would continue to participate in efforts to weed out terrorism.Analysts in Japan were trying to confirm the authenticity of the recording."We demand the immediate and safe release of Kenji Goto," Abe said.US President Barack Obama also condemned Islamic State's murder of Yakawa, called for the release of a second Japanese hostage and vowed to stand with Japan.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Japan and applaud its commitment to peace and development in a region far from its shores,"he said.
"We will work together to bring the perpetrators of these murders to justice and will continue to take decisive action to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL.
"The White House earlier said it was working to verify the authenticity of a video purporting to show that the hostage had been killed.
On Tuesday, the radical group threatened in a video posted on the internet to kill Goto, a freelance journalist, and Yakawa, who works for a private security firm, unless a 200-million-dollar(178-million-euro) ransom payment was made within 72 hours.The deadline expired on Friday.Islamic State controls large swathes of territory in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.