ISIL threatens to kill Jordanian pilot by Thursday sunset

In a 30-second audio recording a voice identifying itself as  Kenji Goto, the second Japanese hostage, said his captors would kill pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh if Iraqi death row prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi was not freed in exchange for his life  by the end of the day.

"If Sajida al-Rishawi is not ready for exchange for my life at the Turkish border by Thursday sunset, 29th of January,the Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh will be killed immediately," Goto said, in an unverified audio message distributed by ISIL-linked Twitter accounts.

It was not clear from the message if either Goto or Kasasbeh would be freed.

Japanese Prime Minister's spokesperson has said the government is trying to verify the new message.

The recording was reported by monitoring group SITE Intelligence.

The 24-hour deadline the group had issued earlier, expired around 14:00 GMT Wednesday.

Amman had offered to free the Iraqi woman, who was convicted for her part in 2005 triple-hotel bombings in the Jordanian capital that killed 60 people, if the ISIL released their airman.

The pilot  is the first military member from the US-led coalition captured by the Islamic State. He was captured after his aircraft went down in Syria during an air-strike in December 2014.

While IS claimed that it had shot down the F-16, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) had said the jet had crashed.

The atmosphere was tense in Jordan, where the country's involvement in the US-led air raids against ISIL positions is contentious.

Meanwhile, Japanese hostage Goto's mother Junko Ishido has made an appeal to the Prime Minister to continue engotiations with the Jordanian government until the last minute to secure her son's release.

"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, please continue your utmost efforts in negotiating with the Jordanian government until the last minute. There is not much time left," she has said.