Beijing has condemned the “cold-blooded and violent” killing of the first known Chinese hostage taken by ISIS and vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable.
ISIS claimed to have executed two male hostages in the latest edition of its English language online magazine, “Dabiq.”
Both men, identified as Chinese national Fan Jinghui and Norwegian citizen Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad in a September edition of the publication, had been “executed after being abandoned by kafir nations and organizations.”
“The Chinese government and people have been very concerned about Fan Jinghui’s safety since he was kidnapped,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said in a statement Thursday, adding that the government had made “all-out” efforts to rescue him.
President Xi Jinping expressed his deepest sympathy to the victim’s family and said that China is opposed any form of terrorism.
Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg has also condemned the killing.
‘For sale’
China hasn’t been an active participant in the fight against ISIS, but, in the wake of the killing, pledged to “enhance its counter-terrorism cooperation with the international community.”
In September, the two men were pictured in the online magazine wearing yellow jumpsuits with the words “FOR SALE” below their portraits.
A warning appeared beneath at the bottom of each page: “Note: This is a limited time offer.”
Solberg said in September that the kidnappers had asked for ransom amounts several times but the Norwegian government did not pay ransom.
ISIS has taken dozens of international hostages, often seeking ransoms for them to swell its coffers, but, when money isn’t forthcoming, it has publicized its barbaric killings to score propaganda points.