Who is the woman whose release ISIL is demanding?

One of the Islamic State hostages is Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. An audio recording has surfaced in which the captive explains that his life could be saved if a woman named Sajida al-Rishawi is released. The audio recording plays while a photo of the journalist holding a picture of his beheaded compatriot stands in the background, reports the Patria News Agency.

Who this woman is and why she is so important to ISIL are questions that CNN has addressed. She is a woman whose suicide belt did not detonate in a series of otherwise deadly terrorist attacks on Jordanian hotels in 2005.

Islamic State terrorists call her their 'imprisoned sister' and are demanding her release in exchange for the release of the Japanese journalist.

Let us recall that a few days ago, ISIL demanded that the Japanese government pay $200 million within 72 hours in exchange for the release of the hostages.

Now, however, they are demanding the release of Sajida al-Rishawi. She is held by Jordanian authorities and has not been seen in public for nine years. In a televised confession in late 2005, she calmly recounted how she attempted to participate in a series of terrorist attacks that killed at least 57 people.

Her husband detonated the bomb, which she failed to do, and in 2006 she was sentenced to death. However, in the same year, a moratorium on the death penalty was declared in Jordan. Executions resumed last month.

After the attacks, she explained that she was an Iraqi national who had traveled to Jordan with her husband using forged passports. Her husband taught her how to use the explosive belt, and she claims he was also the organizer of the attacks.