The saga of a Japanese journalist and Jordanian military pilot held by the Islamic State terror group has taken a new turn with the release of a message promising to extend the deadline for Jordan's release of a female Iraqi prisoner.
The message, read in English by a voice the Japanese government said was likely that of hostage Kenji Goto, was released online late Wednesday after Jordan offered to hand over the Al Qaeda-linked would-be suicide bomber to the Islamic State group, or ISIS, in exchange for Jordanian air force pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh.
"I am Kenji Goto. This is a voice message I've been told to send to you. If Sajida al-Rishawi is not ready for exchange for my life at the Turkish border by Thursday sunset 29th of January Mosul (Iraq) time, the Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh will be killed immediately," the voice on the recording says. The recording did not specify what Goto's fate would be if al-Rishawi was not released. Sunset in Mosul, Iraq is estimated to occur at 5:30 p.m. local time Thursday (9:30 a.m. Eastern).
According to Reuters, Jordan's government said on Wednesday that it had not received any assurance that al-Kasaesbeh was alive and would only complete the exchange if he was freed as well. Earlier Wednesday, government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani announced that Jordan was willing to trade al-Rishawi for the pilot, but made no mention of Goto. Jordan reportedly is holding indirect talks with the militants through religious and tribal leaders in Iraq to secure the release of the hostages.
The latest recording was distributed via ISIS-affiliated Twitter accounts and could not be immediately verified. The Japanese government said early Thursday that it was studying the latest message, but did not immediately confirm its authenticity.
"We think there is a high probability that this is Mr. Goto's voice," government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Thursday. He added that the government was in close communications and "deeply trusts" the Jordan government. He said Japan was doing its utmost to free Goto, working with nations in the region, including Turkey, Jordan and Israel.
Suga refused comment on the specifics of the talks with Jordan, saying the situation was developing. The Cabinet met to assess the latest developments, but did not issue any updates.
Efforts to free al-Kaseasbeh and Goto gained urgency after a purported online ultimatum claimed Tuesday that ISIS would kill both hostages within 24 hours if Jordan did not free al-Rishawi.
Japan has scrambled to deal with the crisis that began last week with the release of a video by ISIS showing Goto and another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, kneeling in orange jumpsuits between a masked man who threatened to kill them within 72 hours unless Japan paid a $200 million ransom.
That demand has since shifted to one for the release of al-Rishawi, who was convicted of involvement in deadly Amman hotel bombings in 2005. The militants have reportedly have killed Yukawa, 42, although that has not been confirmed.
"This heinous terrorist act is totally unforgivable," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in parliament Thursday.
Goto was captured in October in Syria, apparently while trying to rescue Yukawa, who was taken hostage last summer.
In Tokyo, Goto's mother, Junko Ishido, has been desperately pleading for the government to save her son.
"Kenji has only a little time left," she said Wednesday.
Releasing the would-be hotel bomber linked to Al Qaeda would breach Jordan's usual hard-line approach to the extremists and set a precedent for negotiating with them.
It would also be a coup for ISIS, which has already overrun large parts of neighboring Syria and Iraq. Jordan is part of a U.S.-led military alliance that has carried out airstrikes against the extremist group in Syria and Iraq in recent months.
ISIS has not publicly demanded prisoner releases before and Jordan's main ally, the United States, opposes negotiations with extremists.
Jordanian King Abdullah II faces growing domestic pressure to bring the pilot home. The pilot's father said he met on Wednesday with Jordan's king, who he said assured him that "everything will be fine."
The pilot's capture has hardened popular opposition among Jordanians to the air strikes, analysts said
"Public opinion in Jordan is putting huge pressure on the government to negotiate with the Islamic State group," said Marwan Shehadeh, a scholar with ties to ultra-conservative Islamic groups in Jordan. "If the government doesn't make a serious effort to release him, the morale of the entire military will deteriorate and the public will lose trust in the political regime."
The 26-year-old pilot, al-Kaseasbeh, was seized after his Jordanian F-16 crashed in December near the ISIS de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria. He is the first foreign military pilot the militants have captured since the coalition began its airstrikes in August.
Previous captives may have been freed in exchange for ransom, although the governments involved have refused to confirm any payments were made.
ISIS broke with Al Qaeda's central leadership in 2013 and has clashed with its Syrian branch, but it reveres the global terror network's former Iraqi affiliate, which battled U.S. forces and claimed the 2005 Amman attack.
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