Experts say ISIS ransom clip faked as deadline for Japanese hostages passes

Fox News ^ | 01/23/2015

[SeekAndFind]

The deadline imposed by ISIS for Japan to pay $200 million to free two captives passed, starting what the terrorist group called a countdown clock on Friday, even as questions swirled about the authenticity of the initial tape and whether the pair is even alive.

A tweet from a Twitter account linked to ISIS said the hostages had been killed "because of Japan's choices." The tweet, on the same one that previously posted the countdown clock, warned that a new video was "being sent to production." Intelligence sources told Fox News the claim the hostages had been killed could not be confirmed, but said the situation is being monitored as they await release of a new video.

In a video released Tuesday, Kenji Goto, a journalist, and Haruna Yukawa, who runs a security company, were threatened with beheading by the barbaric terror organization if the Japanese government did not pay the staggering on ransom. The video, posted on militant websites and identified as being made by the Islamic State group's al-Furqan media arm, appeared to have been shot in the same location as those showing American hostages James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Peter Kassig, and British captives David Haines and Alan Henning.

Japan has said it is working to free the hostages, but has not stated whether it would pay the ransom. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened his National Security Council to discuss how to handle the crisis.

[cripplecreek]

One of the hostages appears to be a jihadist himself.

[SeekAndFind]

A Japanese jihadist? Who woulda thunk.

[ArtDodger]

My guess is they both are already dead.

[cripplecreek]

He apparently belonged to one of the “moderate” groups that wanted to create their own independent islamic nation inside Syria.

Basically a crip caught in bloods territory.