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Jordan demands proof that pilot is alive before releasing terrorist

TOKYO — The Jordanian government has demanded proof that the Jordanian pilot held by Islamic State militants is still alive before moving ahead with any possible swap to secure his release, an official said yesterday.

TOKYO — The Jordanian government has demanded proof that the Jordanian pilot held by Islamic State militants is still alive before moving ahead with any possible swap to secure his release, an official said yesterday.

The militants have purportedly threatened to kill the pilot, Lieutenant Muath Al Kaseasbeh, unless Jordan frees an Iraqi woman from death row and delivers her to the Turkish border. The woman, Sajida Al Rishawi, was involved in deadly hotel bombings in Amman a decade ago.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Al Momani said Al Rishawi is still in Jordan, raising doubts that Amman could meet a deadline set by the Islamic State. The deadline was sunset yesterday in Iraq, or about midnight in Singapore.

While the government has not received proof that the pilot is alive, family members said they had privately been assured he was, several media outlets reported yesterday.

The most recent threat against the pilot and a Japanese journalist also being held came in an audio message that was read in English by a voice the Japanese government said was probably that of Mr Kenji Goto, the Japanese hostage held by the militant group.

It was released online after Amman offered on Wednesday to hand over the prisoner, an Al Qaeda-linked would-be suicide bomber, in exchange for Lt Al Kaseasbeh.

The cases of the Japanese hostage, pilot and Iraqi prisoner held in Jordan have become intertwined in recent days.

The recording said the pilot would be killed if the prisoner was not presented at the Turkish border in exchange for Mr Goto’s life. It is unclear what will happen to Mr Goto if Al Rishawi is not returned by the deadline.

In Tokyo, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said yesterday that the government was in close contact with the Jordanian authorities.

He added that Japan was doing its utmost to free Mr Goto, working with nations in the region, including Turkey, Jordan and Israel.

“As the situation is developing, I shouldn’t comment on details. But Japan and Jordan are dealing with the matter based on an extremely trusting relationship,’’ Mr Suga told reporters.

Efforts to free Lt Al Kaseasbeh and Mr Goto gained urgency after a purported online ultimatum claimed on Tuesday that the Islamic State group 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 the Islamic State showing Mr Goto and another Japanese hostage, Mr Haruna Yukawa, kneeling in orange jumpsuits with a masked man between them who threatened to kill them in 72 hours, unless Japan paid a US$200 million (S$270 million) ransom.

Mr Goto, a freelance journalist, was captured last October in Syria, apparently while trying to rescue Mr Yukawa, who was taken hostage last summer.

Releasing Al Rishawi, who is linked to Al Qaeda, will breach Jordan’s usual hard-line approach to the extremists and set a precedent for negotiating with them.

It will also be a coup for the Islamic State, which has overrun large parts of neighbouring Syria and Iraq.

Jordan is part of a US-led military alliance that has carried out air strikes against the extremist group in Syria and Iraq in recent months.

AP

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