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Associated Press

China’s President Xi Jinping has condemned the killing of a Chinese hostage by Islamic State extremists as Beijing confirmed for the first time on Thursday the identity of the mainland captive as Fan Jinghui.
The Islamic State group said on Wednesday that it had killed Fan and Norwegian captive Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad after earlier demanding ransoms for the two men.
“Terrorism is a universal enemy of mankind,” Xi said on Thursday morning.
“China condemns all types of terrorism and will fight against any violent terrorism attacks that challenge human civilisation.”
READ MORE: Paris attacks ‘mastermind’ confirmed dead in seven-hour siege
Xi also said he had sent his condolences to Fan’s family in a statement issued in Manila, where he is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Earlier on Thursday China’s ministry of foreign affairs had confirmed the identity of the Chinese hostage as Fan, who was put “up for sale”, along with Grimsgaard-Ofstad, by the extremist group in early September.
The Chinese ministry’s spokesman Hong Lei said the government had tried to save Fan after he was kidnapped by the extremists, but “the terrorism group ignored human conscience and morals”.
Hong said: “The Chinese government will do all it can to bring the killers to justice.
“We will continue working with the international community on counterterrorism in pursuit of maintaining world peace.”
WATCH: ISIS claims it has killed hostages from China and Norway

The extremist group published two images of the men in the second-to-last page of its English-language magazine, saying they had been “executed after being abandoned by kafir nations and organisations”. “Kafir” is the Arabic word for infidel.
In the images, the men both appeared to have both been shot to death.
Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a news conference in Oslo that Grimsgaard-Ofstad, had most likely been killed.
“We condemn the killing,” Solberg said.
The deaths of the two men come days after 129 people were killed in Paris in the worst ever militant attacks on French soil, and as Moscow launched fresh air raids against IS in Syria after confirming a “terrorist attack” brought down a Russian passenger jet in Egypt last month.
The extremist group had earlier identified the Norwegian hostage as Grimsgaard-Ofstad, 48, from Oslo, and the Chinese man as Fan, 50, a freelance consultant from Beijing. It did not say when or where the two were captured.
The Islamic State group controls large areas in Iraq and Syria. The killing of the two men stood in contrast to other filmed beheadings and atrocities carried out by the group since seizing a third of Iraq in a lightning advance in 2014.
The demand for a cash ransom also stood in contrast to the group’s other hostage demands. The announced killings come as Islamic State militants face increasing airstrikes from a variety of countries, including the United States, Russia and France, as well as ground attacks from Kurdish and other forces.
In September, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed that the Chinese national reported as being held hostage by Islamic State insurgents appeared to be one of its missing citizens.
State-run The Beijing News said it had located an advertising company in western Beijing registered to Fan using the partial address provided in the magazine.


China flags 'fight' against terrorism as it confirms for first time Islamic State has executed hostage Fan Jinghui

This combination of undated photos taken from the Islamic State group's online magazine Dabiq purports to show Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, 48, from Oslo, Norway, left, and Fan Jinghui, 50, from Beijing, China. The extremist group claimed on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, to be holding the men hostage and demanded ransom for their release. (Dabiq via AP)

This combination of undated photos taken from the Islamic State group's online magazine Dabiq purports to show Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, 48, from Oslo, Norway, left, and Fan Jinghui, 50, from Beijing, China. Photo: AP

Islamic State hostage ‘matches characteristics’ of Chinese citizen, says Foreign Ministry

The Islamic State posters of the hostages Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad (left), from Oslo, and a man believed to Fan Jinghui, from Beijing. Photos SCMP Pictures

Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad (left) and the man believed to be Fan Jinghui as they appear in their Islamic State ransom posters. Photo: SCMP

Paris attacks mastermind confirmed dead in seven-hour siege, as France warns of chemical attacks by Islamic State

Abdelhamid Abaaoud (left) was killed in the police raid (right) on Wednesday in Saint Denis. Photos: AFP, Reuters

An alternative crop of an undated picture taken on November 16, 2015 from the February 2015 issue 7 of the Islamic State (IS) group online English-language magazine Dabiq, purportedly shows 27-year-old Belgian IS group leading militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud, also known as Abu Umar al-Baljiki and believed to be the mastermind of a jihadist cell dismantled in Belgium in January 2015, posing at an undisclosed location to illustrate an interview he gave to the magazine. The body of the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, has been identified among those killed in a police raid, the prosecutor's office said on November 19, 2015. AFP PHOTO / HO / DABIQ === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / DABIQ" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIE

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls gestures as he addresses French lawmakers debating a measure that would extend a state of emergency declared by the French president until the end of February, at the National Assembly in Paris on November 19, 2015. Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned of the danger of an attack in France using "chemical or biological weapons", in a speech to lawmakers debating the extension of a state of emergency. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS GUILLOT

A member of French riot police stands guard at the entrance of a cordened off area outside a building in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, on November 19, 2015, where French Police special forces raided an appartment the day before, hunting those behind the attacks that claimed 129 lives in the French capital five days ago. French police said the assault had concluded on an apartment in northern Paris on Wednesday in which at least two jihadists were killed and seven arrested. AFP PHOTO/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

A French policeman and a forensic expert enter a building as they work on the scene in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, November 19, 2015 the day after a police raid to catch fugitives from Friday night's deadly attacks in the French capital. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in the police raid on Wednesday in Saint Denis. Photo: AFP

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President Xi Jinping condemns murder of mainlander, who died alongside Norwegian captive Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, as Beijing vows to bring killers to justice


.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Update | China flags 'fight' against terrorism as it confirms for first time Islamic State has executed hostage Fan Jinghui

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}President Xi Jinping condemns murder of mainlander, who died alongside Norwegian captive Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, as Beijing vows to bring killers to justice

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}.css-jfmysa{display:inline;word-break:break-word;}.css-1ankfgb{cursor:pointer;display:inline;word-break:break-word;}READ MORE: Paris attacks ‘mastermind’ confirmed dead in seven-hour siege

Update | China flags 'fight' against terrorism as it confirms for first time Islamic State has executed hostage Fan Jinghui

President Xi Jinping condemns murder of mainlander, who died alongside Norwegian captive Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, as Beijing vows to bring killers to justice

READ MORE: Paris attacks ‘mastermind’ confirmed dead in seven-hour siege