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ISIS group says it has killed Norwegian, Chinese captives

Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, Fan Jinghui

This file combination of undated photos taken from the ISIS group鈥檚 online magazine Dabiq purports to show Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, 48, from Oslo, Norway, left, and Fan Jinghui, 50, from Beijing, China. The ISIS group said Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, that it has killed captives Grimsgaard-Ofstad and Jinghui after earlier demanding ransoms for the two men. Dabiq via AP File Photo

CAIRO, Egypt鈥擳he Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) group said Wednesday that it has killed Norwegian and Chinese captives after earlier demanding ransoms for the two men.

The extremist group published two images of the men in the second-to-last page of its English-language magazine, saying they had been 鈥渆xecuted after being abandoned by kafir nations and organizations.鈥 鈥滽afir鈥 is the Arabic word for infidel. In the images, the men both appeared to have been shot to death.

The Norwegian man had been identified as Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, 48, a graduate student in political philosophy from Porsgrunn, south of Oslo. The Chinese man had been identified as Fan Jinghui, 50, a self-described 鈥渨anderer鈥 from Beijing who once taught middle school.

The militants did not say when or where the two were captured when announcing their captivity in a previous issue of the magazine, which showed them in yellow jumpsuits. However, the last post on Grimsgaard-Ofstad鈥檚 Facebook page, dated Jan. 24, said he had arrived in Idlib, Syria, on his way to Hama.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a press conference that the government cannot confirm the killing, but said 鈥渨e have no reasons to doubt it.鈥

鈥淚t is painful for the family and the whole country,鈥 she said. She called IS a 鈥渂arbaric group鈥 and said 鈥渨e do not pay ransom.鈥 She added that 鈥渆ven if it hurts, we should never let the terrorists win.鈥

Foreign Minister Borge Brende, who attended the same press conference, said the Norwegian citizen 鈥渨as harshly mistreated,鈥 adding that photos and videos were sent to Norwegian authorities along with demands for ransom. Brende said the government was releasing the information in accordance with the family鈥檚 wishes.

In a statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China has noted the report and is 鈥渄eeply shocked.鈥

鈥淓ver since the Chinese citizen was held hostage by the Islamic State (ISIS) group, the Chinese government has been sparing no effort in rescuing him,鈥 Hong said. 鈥淲e are still verifying the information.鈥

The ISIS group controls large areas in Iraq and Syria. The killing of the two men stood in contrast to other filmed beheadings and atrocities carried out by the group since it seized a third of Iraq in a lightning advance in 2014.

The announced killings come as ISIS militants face increasing airstrikes from a variety of countries, including the U.S., Russia and France, as well as ground attacks from Kurdish and other forces.

The group鈥檚 online magazine, which is titled 鈥淒abiq鈥 after a town in Syria, contains articles, interviews, opinion pieces and other propaganda. It has a professional layout, complete with photos and graphics. The latest issue celebrates the Paris attacks on its cover with the headline 鈥淛ust Terror.鈥

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