ISIL sets sunset deadline for Jordan to hostage swap

ISIL threatens to kill Jordanian pilot unless female prisoner with links to al-Qaeda is released by sunset on Thursday

ISIL has asked Jordanto exchange prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi for pilot Moaz al-Kasabeh
ISIL has asked Jordanto exchange prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi for pilot Moaz al-Kasabeh

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has set a deadline for Jordan to release an al-Qaeda linked female prisoner, Sajida al-Rishawi. The group has said that it would kill Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh, unless the death-row prisoner is not released by sunset on Thursday.

The deal has also left the fate of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto unclear. Goto’s voice was allegedly used in a new recording to explain that if the Iraqi prisoner was not handed over by sunset, then Kasabeh would be killed.

"If Sajida al-Rishawi is not ready for exchange for my life at the Turkish border by Thursday sunset, 29th of January, Mosul time, the Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh will be killed immediately," Goto said, in an unverified audio message distributed by ISIL-linked Twitter accounts.

The recording did not clarify whether Goto or Kasasbeh would be freed.

The Iraqi woman was convicted for her part in 2005 triple-hotel bombings in the Jordanian capital that killed 60 people, but a Jordanian government spokesman has said they are ready to release the prisoner if the pilot is freed unharmed.

"From the start, the position of Jordan was to ensure the safety of our son, the pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh," it added. The government spokesman made no mention of Japanese hostage Goto.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament that they were aware of the new message, but that they were still verifying its authenticity.

The communication breaks the silence from the group since their previous 24-hour deadline for Rishawi expired at around 14:00 on Wednesday.