THE Islamic State group says it has killed a Norwegian and a Chinese captive after demanding ransom for their release two months ago.
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IS militants had previously identified Mr Fan as a 50-year-old freelance consultant from Beijing.
The news of Fan’s capture was revealed in September, when IS announced that he and a second captive, Norwegian Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, were both “for sale”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a statement vowing to bring ISIS to justice.
China has not been actively involved in the fight against Islamic State, but the government is likely to come under pressure to step up its response following the killing of Mr Fan.
“The Chinese government strongly condemns this inhuman action and will definitely hold the perpetrators accountable”.
Fan also worked in advertising and TV production and described himself as a free spirit during an interview in 2001 by China National Radio.
The UN Security Council’s strong condemnation of the murdering of the Chinese and Norwegian citizens reflects the consensus of the council members and the United Nations members as well as the firm resolve of the global community to combat all forms of terrorism, said Liu Jieyi, China’s permanent representative to the UN.
“However, with no regard for human conscience and moral baseline, the terrorist organisation still carried out this cold-blooded and violent action”, the statement read. The vast area has seen a growing number of attacks in recent years, which China’s Communist Party blames on the spread of extremist religious ideology and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a separatist group many experts say no longer exists.
He was the first and so far only known Chinese hostage held by the group.
The Foreign Ministry said then that the description given by the IS about Fan matches a Chinese missing overseas, adding that China is firmly opposed to violence against innocent civilians.
Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg has also condemned the killing.
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ISIL, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria and has a powerful affiliate in the Sinai region, said it targeted the plane because of Moscow’s air strikes against it in Syria.
