Kerry: ISIS execution of journalist ‘barbaric’

Secretary of State John Kerry late Saturday condemned the murder of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants.

{mosads}“We extend our sincere and heartfelt condolences to his wife, his family, and his loved ones, as well as to the people of Japan,” Kerry said in a statement.

“The barbaric killing of Kenji Goto, and of Haruna Yukawa before him, shows again ISIL’s brutality and extremist agenda,” he added, using the administration’s preferred acronym for the terror group.

A video purporting to show the execution of Goto was released by ISIS on Saturday.

The journalist was captured in Syria last October.

President Obama on Saturday condemned Goto’s execution as “heinous.”

“Through his reporting, Mr. Goto courageously sought to convey the plight of the Syrian people to the outside world,” Obama said in his statement.

Kerry said the U.S. “knows this pain on a personal level born of our own experience.”

“We share the sorrow and continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our ally Japan in confronting terrorism,” he said. “We commend Japan’s support for those in the region who have been displaced by ISIL, the Syrian regime, and other militant groups.”

“I feel intense indignation at this utterly cruel and despicable act of terrorism,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told his cabinet members early Sunday, according to Reuters.

“I will never forgive these terrorists,” he added.