• Parents of U.S. hostage Austin Tice mount campaign to win his release

    Parents of U.S. hostage Austin Tice mount campaign to win his release

    Feb 06, 2015 11:55 PM EST

    ... this week, pressing their case, even as Islamic State militants announced they'd burned a captive Jordanian pilot alive. They had already beheaded two Japanese hostages, as well as American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and three aid workers, American Peter Kassig and David Haines and Alan Henning of ...

  • No proof yet of Islamic State claims about female hostage’s death

    No proof yet of Islamic State claims about female hostage’s death

    Feb 06, 2015 11:35 PM EST

    ... JUDY WOODRUFF: Questions swirled today after Islamic State militants claimed an American aid worker is now a casualty of war. The militants said the hostage, Kayla Jean Mueller, died when Jordanian planes bombed this building in their stronghold of Raqqa in Syria. Jordan had stepped up the airstrikes after ...

  • Islamic State claims American hostage was killed by a Jordanian airstrike

    Islamic State claims American hostage was killed by a Jordanian airstrike

    Feb 06, 2015 05:48 PM EST

    ... statement identified the hostage as 26-year-old aid worker Kayla Jean Mueller, according to the Associated Press. Reuters reports that Mueller, who was taken hostage from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in August 2013, was the last-known American hostage held by Islamic State. On Tuesday, a video ...

  • ISIS videos often signal hostages' fate may be sealed

    ISIS videos often signal hostages' fate may be sealed

    Jan 31, 2015 11:51 PM EST

    ... HARI SREENIVASAN, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND ANCHOR: After days of negotiations for a prisoner exchange apparently broke down, ISIS today reportedly executed a Japanese journalist it had been holding hostage in Syria. Just last weekend, ISIS also beheaded another Japanese citizen it had captured. There was no immediate word about ...

  • Online video purports to show beheading of Japanese hostage

    Online video purports to show beheading of Japanese hostage

    Jan 31, 2015 09:07 PM EST

    UPDATE: Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Sunday the video posted online showing the apparent execution of hostage Kenji Goto by ISIS militants appears authentic, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Japan would work with other nations to bring those responsible for Goto's death to justice ...

  • ‘I am Kenji’ Facebook page rallies around Japanese hostage

    ‘I am Kenji’ Facebook page rallies around Japanese hostage

    Jan 29, 2015 07:24 PM EST

    ... proof that the Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, is still alive. The Thursday deadline passed without any word of the fate of the two hostages. A second Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, purportedly was executed by the militant group. Goto’s wife Rinko said in a statement that she has ...

  • After hostage execution, Japan devotes 'all efforts' to rescue second from ISIS

    After hostage execution, Japan devotes 'all efforts' to rescue second from ISIS

    Jan 24, 2015 11:39 PM EST

    ... it been like? HAJIME OZAKI: Yes, of course, most of the Japanese population are very much concerned and worried about the fate of the two hostages, and there was a press conference by one of the -- the mother of one of the hostages the other day, and it -- her appeal ...

  • No image

    Obama says terror group has killed Japanese hostage

    Jan 24, 2015 10:50 PM EST

    RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- President Barack Obama is condemning what he calls "the brutal murder" of a Japanese hostage by the Islamic State group. Obama's statement doesn't say how the United States knows that Haruna Yukawa is dead, and the Japanese government is trying to verify an online ...

  • Japanese hostage reportedly executed in Syria

    Japanese hostage reportedly executed in Syria

    Jan 24, 2015 07:47 PM EST

    A video released Saturday purportedly announced the execution of one of the two Japanese hostages being held by the militant group Islamic State in Syria.  Japanese officials condemned the apparent execution of Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old unemployed widower who went to Syria in July and was captured the ...

  • News Wrap: Ransom deadline passes for Japanese hostages held by Islamic State

    News Wrap: Ransom deadline passes for Japanese hostages held by Islamic State

    Jan 24, 2015 12:25 AM EST

    ... his cabinet. Parliament has called an emergency session for Sunday on whether to accept the resignations. The deadline has come and gone for two Japanese hostages held by Islamic State forces in Syria. On Tuesday, the militants had threatened to kill Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa unless Japan paid $200 ...