Jihadi John demands $200m ransom or he will kill two Japanese
hostages
Islamic State thug Jihadi John who has beheaded British and American hostages threatened to kill the two Japanese captives within 72 hours if the ransom is not paid
British extremist Jihadi John made a chilling return to the Internet yesterday - demanding a $200m (£132m) ransom or he will kill two Japanese hostages.
A man appearing to be the same black-clad Islamic State thug who has beheaded British and American hostages in Syria threatened to kill the two Japanese captives within 72 hours if the sum is not paid.
His video nasty was believed to have been filmed in the Syrian desert and comes just three days after Japan paid 200 million dollars (£132m) to support the war against IS.
In it a man believed to be Jihadi John says the two hostages are under threat as a result of Japan’s support of Western military actions against his terror gang.
Brandishing a knife and standing between the terrified pair the militant says: “To the Prime Minister of Japan: “Although you are more than 5,280 miles from the Islamic State, you willingly have volunteered to take part in this crusade.
“You have proudly donated 100 million dollars (£66m) to kill our women and children, to destroy the homes of the Muslims, so the life of this Japanese citizen will cost you 100 million dollars.
“And in an attempt to stop the expansion of the Islamic State, you have also donated another 100 million dollars to train the murtadeen (apostates) against the mujahideen, and so the life of this Japanese citizen will cost you another 100 million dollars.
“And to the Japanese public: Just as how your government has made the foolish decision to pay 200 million dollars to fight the Islamic State, you now have 72 hours to pressure your government in making a wise decision, by paying the 200 million dollars to save the lives of your citizens.
“Otherwise, this knife will become your nightmare.”
Despite the huge sum demanded it is not believed that Islamic State is short of money, having built-up a
war chest of several billion pounds from crimes including oil theft, extortion and robbery.
The hostages - identified as Kenji Goto Jogo and Haruna Yukawa - appear in the same orange jumpsuits as those worn by captives in previous IS videos.
The orange jump suits are used to copycat similar uniforms by inmates at America’s Guantanamo Bay prison complex, which houses alleged jihadists.
Yukawa is thought to be a 42-year-old widower with a history of attempted suicide and self-mutilation after his business went bankrupt and his wife died of cancer.
He travelled to Iraq and Syria last year after telling friends and family that he thought it represented a last chance to turn his life around.
A video on his Facebook page showed him test-firing a Kalashnikov assault rifle with the caption: ‘Syria war in Aleppo 2014.”
In his last blog post, he says: ‘I cannot identify the destination. But the next one could be the most dangerous.”
He added: ‘I hope to film my fighting scenes during an upcoming visit.”
He came to widespread attention in Japan when he appeared in footage posted last August in which he was shown being roughly interrogated by his captors.
Goto is a freelance journalist, born in 1967, who set up a video production company, named Independent Press in Tokyo in 1996.
He had been out of contact since late October after telling family that he intended to return to Japan.
Goto met Yukawa last year and helped him travel to Iraq in June.
Footage on his last Twitter post in October shows him talking in front of the Syrian city of Kobani, which has been under siege from ISIS fighters for several months.
In early November, his wife received e-mail demands for about one billion yen ($8.5m) in ransom from a person claiming to from Islamic State.
The emailed threats were later confirmed to have come from a sender implicated in the killing of US journalist Foley, who was beheaded by Jihadi John.
In the latest ISIS video, the militant directly addresses Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is currently now on a six-day visit to the Middle East.
Yesterday Abe described the threat as “unforgivable” and demanded that IS immediately release the men.
He added: “I feel strong resentment.”
The Foreign Office confirmed it was aware of the video and is “studying the content”.
Jihadi John has appeared in a number of previous videos in which hostages were both threatened and killed.
British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and US journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley have been beheaded in similar style footage.
British photojournalist John Cantlie has appeared in a number of propaganda videos released by Islamic State, presenting documentary-style clips.
The latest video is thought to be the first time the group has made a specific demand for cash for hostages.
Speaking in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to say whether Japan would pay the ransom.
“If true, the act of threat in exchange of people’s lives is unforgivable and we feel strong indignation,” Mr Suga told journalists.
“We will make our utmost effort to win their release as soon as possible.
