The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has released a video purportedly showing the killing of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, a monitoring service has said.

The video, released online by the armed group on Saturday, shows the journalist who was abducted while reporting on Syria's civil war last year being beheaded with a knife by a black-clad masked fighter.

Addressing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the ISIL member in the video said: "Because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin."

Abe addressed the nation shortly after the release of the footage, condemning the "horrendeous" and "despicable" killing and saying that the government tried its best to save the hostage.

"Japan will not be defeated by terrorism," he said. (Source: aljazeera)

Story Date: February 2, 2015