6:44 AM
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Government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani
told The Associated Press that "we are still ready to hand over"
prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi, who faces death by hanging for her role in
triple hotel bombings in Jordan in 2005. Al-Rishawi has close family
ties to the Iraq branch of al-Qaeda, a precursor of ISIS.
With no updates for days, al-Kaseasbeh's family appealed to the government for information on his situation. But for Goto's family and friends, the beheading shattered any hopes for his rescue.
Jogo, Goto's wife, said she had received several emails from unknown
people claiming to be her husband's captors. But the hostage crisis
became a national issue after the militants issued a demand for $200
million in ransom, to be paid within 72 hours, on Jan. 20.
Later, the militants' demand shifted to seeking the release of al-Rishawi, who survived the 2005 attack that killed 60 people when her explosive belt failed to detonate in the worst terror attack in Jordan's history.
Jordan and Japan reportedly conducted indirect negotiations with the militants through Iraqi tribal leaders, but late on Friday the Japanese envoy sent to Amman to work on the hostage crisis reported a deadlock in those efforts.
The UN Security Council issued a statement Sunday demanding "the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all those who are kept hostage" by the Islamic State group. Council members underlined the need to bring those responsible for Goto's "heinous and cowardly murder" to justice and stressed that the Islamic State group "must be defeated and that the intolerance, violence and hatred it espouses must be stamped out."
With no updates for days, al-Kaseasbeh's family appealed to the government for information on his situation. But for Goto's family and friends, the beheading shattered any hopes for his rescue.
A
woman holds a picture of her son, Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath
al-Kaseasbeh, who is being held by ISIS militants, in a car during a
sit-in in front of the cabinet offices in Amman calling for his release
on Jan. 27. (Raad Adayleh/Associated Press)
Later, the militants' demand shifted to seeking the release of al-Rishawi, who survived the 2005 attack that killed 60 people when her explosive belt failed to detonate in the worst terror attack in Jordan's history.
Jordan and Japan reportedly conducted indirect negotiations with the militants through Iraqi tribal leaders, but late on Friday the Japanese envoy sent to Amman to work on the hostage crisis reported a deadlock in those efforts.
The UN Security Council issued a statement Sunday demanding "the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all those who are kept hostage" by the Islamic State group. Council members underlined the need to bring those responsible for Goto's "heinous and cowardly murder" to justice and stressed that the Islamic State group "must be defeated and that the intolerance, violence and hatred it espouses must be stamped out."
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