White House condemns death of Japanese hostage by ISIS - Thehill

The White House is condemning the alleged death of a Japanese citizen who had been captured by ISIS. 

A video depicting a the deceased hostage, which appears to be Japanese security contractor Haruna Yukawa, was released online by the terror group Saturday.

In the video, another Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto, is shown alive and in handcuffs with a photo allegedly of a beheaded Yukawa. 

"The United States strongly condemns the brutal murder of Japanese citizen Haruna Yukawa by the terrorist group ISIL.  Our condolences today are with the people of Japan for their terrible loss," President Obama said in a statement.

"We renew our call for the immediate release of Kenji Goto and all other remaining hostages.  We stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Japan and applaud its commitment to peace and development in a region far from its shores.  We will work together to bring the perpetrators of these murders to justice and will continue to take decisive action to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL.," the president's statement continued. 

Earlier on Saturday the National Security Council deputy spokesperson Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. intelligence community is still working to verify the authenticity of the video. 

“The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions and we call for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages,” Ventrell said in a statement. “The United States is fully supportive of Japan in this matter. We stand in solidarity with Japan and are coordinating closely."

Earlier in the week, ISIS demanded a ransom of $200 million from the Japanese government in exchange for the hostages. 

When Japan didn’t pay, it appears ISIS killed one of the hostages.  Both hostages were captured by ISIS in recent months.  Read More