Beijing: China today voiced "great shock" over reports that a Chinese hostage held by the Islamic State (IS) had been killed saying that the claims by the extremist outfit needed to be verified.
"The Chinese side noticed the report and was greatly shocked," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said in a press release, adding the information needs to be further verified.
The dreaded Islamic militant group had yesterday said it had killed a Chinese and a Norwegian hostage.
Hong said the Chinese government had been trying to rescue the hostage with all-out efforts since the kidnapping happened.
Earlier in September, the IS said it had captured a Chinese and a Norwegian hostage, who were identified by IS's English-language magazine Dabiq as Fan Jinghui, a freelance consultant and Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad.
However, the group did not specify when or where the two had been captured.
The Foreign Ministry said then that the description given by the IS about Fan matches a Chinese missing abroad, adding that China is firmly opposed to violence against innocent civilians.
China vows justice after Islamic State executes national
China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it will "bring to justice" those responsible for executing a Chinese national in the Middle East, after Islamic State said it had killed a Chinese captive.
The ministry, in a brief statement, also confirmed the man's identify for the first time, naming him as Fan Jinghui.
- PTI