CHINA is verifying a media report, which claimed a Chinese national was captured by the Islamic State (IS), Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Thursday.

    “The Chinese Government strongly opposes any violence against innocent civilians,” Hong said.

    The Islamic State group Wednesday claimed to be holding a Norwegian man and a Chinese consultant hostage and demanded ransom for their release.

    The extremist group posted pictures of the two men wearing yellow prison outfits in the latest issue of its online magazine Dabiq. It identifies the Norwegian man as Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, 48, from Oslo, and the Chinese man as Fan Jinghui, 50, a freelance consultant from Beijing.

    The magazine lists a telegram number for “whoever would like to pay the ransom for his release and transfer.”

    It gave no details about where or when they were captured, or where they are being held.

    It did not say how much money was being demanded, nor when the opportunity to pay it would expire.

    Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg confirmed that one of the hostages was a Norwegian man in his 40s being held in Syria and “everything indicates that (the Islamic State group) is behind it.”

    Solberg said the man was captured at the end of January.

    “We cannot give in and won’t give in to pressure from terrorists and criminals. Norway does not pay ransom,” she said.

    (Xinhua)