Croatian PM fears 'IS' hostage Salopek killed

Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic called an emergency press conference on Wednesday, after the alleged photo of the dead hostage spread through social media.

"Unfortunately, we have to break the silence," said Milanovic. "Someone has to do it. It is my duty to tell the Croatian public what we see, and what terrifies us," Milanovic said, commenting on the photo of a decapitated body.

"We cannot confirm with 100 percent certainty that it is true; maybe we won't be able to do it in the next few days. But what we see does not look good, it looks horrific," Milanovic said at a televised press conference.

"I ask people not to share it, not to show it to children," he added.

The Croatian Prime Minister, Zoran Milanovic, also said that his government is in touch with foreign agencies and would try to obtain more information.

The officials "will not stop searching, digging as long as there is a drop of hope" to find Salopek, he said.

Croatia in 'war'

The graphic picture was posted on Twitter on Wednesday, with a caption that read "killing of the Croatian hostage, due to his country's participation in the war against Islamic State, after the deadline expired."

Next to the picture are screenshots of Arabic language news articles with the headlines: "Croatia confirms its support for Egypt in efforts to fight terrorism and extremism" and "Croatia affirms its continued support for the Kurdistan region."

Despite the latest incident, Croatia would not directly participate in fighting the "Islamic State" (IS) militant group, Milanovic said.

"Firstly, because we can't, and second because others need to handle that," he said at the press conference.

Rescue attempts to continue

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic had canceled her schedule for the day, according to a statement from her office.

The attempts to save Salopek will continue, "as long as there is any glimmer of possibility he might be alive after all," Grabar-Kitarovic said on Wednesday, according to Croatian news site dnevnik.hr.

The Croatian president was expected to hold a press conference later in the day.

Egypt checking the photo

The German Foreign Ministry condemned the alleged killing of Salopek, saying that "this abhorrent act once again shows that the fanatical ideology of ISIS threatens us all."

The statement also said that Germany would do everything possible, with its international partners, "to push ISIS back, not just militarily but above all politically," according to the AP news agency.

The prime minister of Croatian neighbor Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, offered his condolences to the Croatian government and Tomislav Salopek's family.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry is working on confirming the photo's authenticity, according to a spokesman.

"We have seen this news online but are currently making our own checks. If we confirm that it is indeed true, we will inform the media through a statement," a representative in the press office said.

dj/rc (Reuters, AFP, AP)