The United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed to issue a statement on Sunday deploring the apparent murder of Japanese citizen Haruna Yukawa by the Islamic State (IS).

"The members of the Security Council deplored the apparent murder of a Japanese citizen Haruna Yukawa by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), strongly condemned the heinous and cowardly act, and demanded the immediate release of a Japanese citizen Kenji Goto," the statement read.

According to the Security Council, Yukawa's murder demonstrates the Islamic State's brutality and serves as another "tragic reminder of the increasing dangers people face every day in Syria, including journalists."