Today, officials with the Jordanian government announced that they will free a prisoner in order to secure the safe release of a pilot captured by ISIS.
Yesterday, a new video which appeared to show remaining Japanese hostage Kenji Goto holding a picture of 1st Lt. Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh while pleading for both their lives:
I have been told this is my last message and I have also been told that the barrier of extracting my freedom is just the Jordanian government delaying the government of Sajida. Time is now running very short. It is me for her, what seems to be so difficult to understand? Any more delays from the Jordanian government will mean they are responsible for the death of their pilot, which will then be followed by mine. I only have 24 hours left to live and the pilot has even less. Please don’t leave us to die.
ISIS had reportedly threatened to kill Goto and al-Kaseasbeh if Sajida al-Rishawi was not released. According to the Associated Press, al-Rishawi was sentenced to death for her involvement in a 2005 terror attack which left 60 people dead.
In a video that surfaced last week, ISIS threatened to kill Goto and Haruna Yukawa if the Japanese government did not pay a $200 million ransom. A message which showed Goto holding what appears to be Yukawa's decapitated body was released over the weekend.
[via Gawker and Associated Press]
