(Bloomberg) -- Islamic State purportedly executed journalist Kenji Goto, saying it would continue to punish Japan for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pledge to support countries affected by the militant group.

Islamic State released a video showing what appeared to be the beheading of Goto, a war correspondent with two decades of experience covering conflicts, according to SITE Intel Group, which monitors jihadist social media. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a Sunday briefing that it’s highly probable the video is genuine.

“I am infuriated by these inhumane and despicable acts of terrorism, and resolutely condemn these impermissible and outrageous acts,” according to an official translation of Abe’s remarks in Tokyo. “I will never forgive these terrorists. I will work with the international community to hold them responsible for their deplorable acts.”

The militants, who had pledged to kill Goto and Jordanian pilot Moath al-Kasassbeh unless Jordan released a failed suicide bomber on death row, threatened Japan with “carnage wherever your people are found.” The group pledged to target Japan because of Abe’s offer of $200 million in humanitarian aid to victims of the fighting in Syria and Iraq. “Let the nightmare for Japan begin,” a militant says in the video’s voice over.

Abe was defiant after the release of the video, saying Japan would further increase its humanitarian aid to the region.

Fate of Pilot

The video didn’t mention the fate of Al-Kasassbeh, who was captured in Syria on Dec. 24 after his plane crashed on a bombing run against Islamic State. The group had set a deadline of Jan. 29 for Jordan to turn over Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman whose suicide belt failed to detonate during an attack on hotels in Amman in 2005 that killed dozens. Jordan said it was willing to free Al-Rishawi if Islamic State gave proof Al-Kasassbeh was alive and was included in the swap for Goto.

Jordan never received that proof and Al-Rishawi remains in jail. The government is still willing to release Al-Rishawi in “return for our son and our hero,” Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said on Sunday.

“Jordan did not spare any effort to preserve the life of the Japanese hostage and secure his release,” Momani said in a statement. “Jordan was in constant coordination with Japan. Islamic State rejected all attempts by specialized agencies to release the hostage, which proves its insistence on terrorism and killing.”

‘Heinous Murder’

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the “heinous murder” of Goto in an e-mailed statement. “Our thoughts are with Mr. Goto’s family and loved ones,” Obama said, noting that in his reporting, Goto “courageously sought to convey the plight of the Syrian people to the outside world.”

“We stand today in solidarity with Prime Minister Abe and the Japanese people in denouncing this barbaric act,” Obama said in his statement.

The killing of Goto brings a tragic end to the almost two-week hostage crisis and came a week after the group purportedly killed a second Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, a self-styled security consultant. He was murdered after Japan failed to pay a $200 million ransom initially demanded by the group, which matched the amount Abe pledged on Jan. 17 in humanitarian aid to countries dealing with victims of Islamic State. In the new video, Islamic State said the aid offer was a “reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war.”

After killing Yukawa, the group changed its demands, calling for the release of Al-Rishawi and threatening to kill the pilot as well as well as Goto if she wasn’t released.

The hostage standoff gripped both countries with loved ones and friends of Goto and Al-Kasassbeh taking to the streets in Tokyo and Amman.

Goto, who specialized in drawing attention to the plight of children in conflict, was captured by Islamic State after traveling to Syria in October to try to seek the release of Yukawa, who had been taken prisoner months earlier.

“I am in no state to choose my words,” Goto’s mother, Junko Ishido, told Kyodo news. “I want them to understand my son’s generosity and courage.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrew Zajac in Washington at azajac@bloomberg.net; Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stanley James at sjames8@bloomberg.net Andrew Davis, Amy Teibel