Families plead for lives of IS hostages as swap hopes fade

A deadline of sunset Thursday for a possible prisoner swap purportedly set by the Islamic State group holding a Japanese journalist and a Jordanian military pilot passed with no sign of whether the two men were still alive. Japanese officials had no new progress to report Friday after a late night that ended with the Jordanian government saying it would only release an al-Qaeda prisoner from death row if it got proof the airman was alive. Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga also reiterated Japan’s “strong trust” in the Jordanians to help save the Japanese hostage, freelance journalist Kenji Goto.

I fear that this is the last chance for my husband, and we now have only a few hours left.

Japanese hostage Kenji Goto’s wife, Rinko Jogo

An audio message purportedly posted online Thursday by IS said the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, would be killed if Sajida al-Rishawi, the al-Qaeda prisoner, was not delivered to the Turkish border by sunset on Thursday, Iraq time. There was no mention on whether the pilot or Goto would be traded for the woman. The authenticity of the recording could not be verified independently by the AP. The possibility of a swap was raised Wednesday when Jordan said it was willing to trade Sajida al-Rishawi for the pilot. But releasing al-Rishawi, implicated in the worst terror attack in Jordan, would be at odds with the government’s tough stance on Islamic extremism. After sundown in the Middle East, with no news on the fate of either the pilot or Goto, the families’ agonizing wait dragged on. In the Jordanian capital Amman, the pilot’s brother Jawdat al-Kaseasbeh, said his family had “no clue” about where the negotiations stood.

We received no assurances from anyone that he is alive. We are waiting, just waiting.

Jordanian hostage Muath al-Kaseasbeh’s brother Jawdat

Middle East Islamic State