By Shannon Tiezzi
With the Islamic State now directly killing Chinese citizens, will China be drawn into conflict in the Middle East?
Islamic State (also known as ISIS) claims to have killed two hostages, one a Chinese citizen and the other a Norwegian. The news was included in Islamic States’ English language online magazine, Dabiq, reports the New York Times.
ISIS said both men (identified as Fan Jinghui and Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad) had been “executed after being abandoned by kafir nations and organizations.” The same issue of the magazine also claimed to reveal the bomb that destroyed a Russian passenger plane in Sinai, killing 224 people.
In September, Dabiq had published pictures of both men and said they were “for sale.” Along with their pictures, the magazine provided a contact number for “whoever would like to pay the ransom for [the men’s] release and transfer,” while warning the chance to random the hostages was a “limited time offer.” A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson later confirmed that the photos of the hostage matched a Chinese national known to be in the area.
The news of the executions comes global leaders are doubling down on the fight against ISIS, which occupies territory in both Syria and Iraq. The group claimed responsibility for coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris last week, which left 129 dead. World leaders condemned the attack and renewed their commitments to the fight against terrorism.
Read the full story at The Diplomat