Three of the prisoners ISIS apparently wants back are womena failed suicide bomber, an alleged bomb maker and a woman tied to the head of ISIS. The fourth is a child.
Many countries have a strategy of not negotiating with terrorists.
But this new approach by ISIS is putting governments to the test.
In its most recent demand, ISIS called for Sajida al-Rishawi to be handed over. She is a female Jihadi imprisoned for her role in a 2005 suicide bombing at a wedding reception in Jordan that killed dozens.
If she wasn’t brought to the Turkish border by sunset Thursday, the militants said, two hostages would die: Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh. The deadline has passed but the hostages’ fate is unknown.
“By negotiating with ISIS, by recognizing them, by even having dialogue with them, it gives them the impression of acting as a state,” said Sajjan Gohel, international security director at the Asia Pacific Foundation.
‘Endless loop’
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Duncan Bullivant, a UK-based risk consultant, says swapping prisoners for hostages is still better than paying for release of prisoners, as some European countries do.
“The payment of cash ransom can been seen as the direct funding of terrorist organizations and for that reason and a few others, is regarded as unacceptable certainly by the U.S., UK and increasingly other nations,” he said.
“There would be nothing unusual about the swapping of combatants and if the Japanese victim is thrown in as part of the deal, then that is a great bonus.”
It’s sadly far from certain that Goto and al-Kassasbeh will emerge from the current negotiations alive.
But whether they gain the release of al-Rishawi or not, ISIS’ leaders have very clearly achieved one goal: maximum media coverage for their cause.
CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen and Nic Robertson contributed to this report.
