Jordan demanded proof that a pilot threatened with execution by the Islamic State group was still alive, as a deadline set by the jihadists in a proposed prisoner exchange expired Thursday.
The Islamic State group had threatened to kill airman Mu’ath al-Kaseasbeh unless Jordan released female Iraqi suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi by sunset Thursday and delivered her to the Turkish border.
Roughly an hour before the new deadline was due to pass at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), Jordan’s government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said, “Rishawi is still in Jordan and the exchange will happen once we receive the proof of life that we asked for.”
Momani made no specific mention of another hostage, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, also being held by the Islamic State group.
He later told reporters Jordan was coordinating with Japanese authorities on an effort to secure Goto’s release.
“We want to see a proof of life of the Jordanian pilot and then we can talk about the exchange between Sajida Rishawi and the Jordanian pilot,” Momani added.
New recording
In a new recording posted online late Wednesday, a man identifying himself as Goto said al-Kaseasbeh would be killed “immediately” if Jordan did not bring convicted terrorist Rishawi to the Turkish border by the end of the day Thursday.
Authorities in Japan and Jordan were trying to verify the new recording.
However, the audio recording did not promise that either of the hostages would be released in exchange for Rishawi, an Iraqi woman convicted of participation in a 2005 terror attack that killed 60 people in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
In Tokyo, Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Japan was doing its utmost to free Goto, working with nations in the region, including Turkey, Jordan and Israel.
“The situation is continuously changing and so in that sense we don’t believe that the government should comment, but we can say that things between Japan and Jordan are moving in an atmosphere of trust,” Suga said.
Hostage crisis
The hostage crisis erupted after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while on a tour of the Middle East last week, announced $200 million in non-military aid for countries fighting the Islamic State militants.
Goto was captured by the Islamic State group last year while trying to rescue another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa. On Saturday, the Islamic State group released a video showing Goto holding pictures of Yukawa, apparently beheaded.
Pilot al-Kaseasbeh was captured in December after his plane crashed in territory held by the Islamic State group.
Shortly before the deadline was set to expire on Thursday, Goto’s wife, Rinko, released a statement to Reuters and other media. In it, she urged the Japanese and Jordanian governments to work for his release.
“I fear that this is the last chance for my husband, and we now have only a few hours left to secure his release and the life of (Jordanian air force pilot) Lieutenant Mu’ath al-Kasaesbeh,” the statement read.
Goto’s wife said she had been “working tirelessly behind the scenes” for his release since his capture on Oct. 26, as he sought the release of Yukawa, who was seized in August.
“I have not spoken out until now as I have been trying to protect my children and family from the media attention Kenji’s plight has created around the world,” Rinko wrote. The couple have two young daughters.
Some material for this report came from Reuters and AFP.
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