Islamic State threatens Japanese captives in vid, demands ransomJanuary 20, 2015 - 12:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The militant Islamic State group, which holds territory in Iraq and Syria, issued a video online on Tuesday, Jan 20 purporting to show two Japanese captives and demanding $200 million from the Japanese government to save their lives, Reuters reports. A black-clad figure with a knife, standing in a desert area along with two kneeling men wearing orange clothing, said the Japanese public had 72 hours to pressure their government to stop its "foolish" support for the U.S.-led coalition waging a military campaign against Islamic State. The militant, who spoke in English, demanded "200 million" without specifying a currency, but an Arabic subtitle identified it as U.S. dollars. The video identified the men as Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. The video was not dated, but on a visit to Cairo on Jan. 17, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged around $200 million in non-military assistance for countries battling Islamic State. Abe was in Jerusalem on Tuesday as part of a regional tour. In Tokyo, Japan's foreign ministry said it was checking the video to see whether the footage was genuine and said that, if it was, "such a threat by taking hostages is unacceptable and we are extremely resentful." Goto is a freelance reporter who was based in Tokyo. He has written books on AIDS and children in war zones from Afghanistan to Africa and reported for news broadcasters in Japan. Goto met Yukawa last year and helped him travel to Iraq in June, he told Reuters in August. Yukawa's father, Shoichi Yukawa, declined to comment, saying he was overwhelmed by the news reports. The video resembled others distributed by Islamic State outlets in which captives were threatened or killed. The militant, who spoke with a British accent, appeared to have the same voice as a jihadist shown threatening captives in previous Islamic State videos. Photo: AFP Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |