China voiced "great shock" about a report saying a Chinese hostage held by the Islamic State (ISIS) had been killed, saying the report need to be further verified.

"The Chinese side noticed the report and was greatly shocked," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei in a press release, adding the information need to be further verified.

Hong said the Chinese Government had been trying to rescue the hostage with all-out efforts since the kidnapping happened.

Earlier in September, the ISIS said it had captured a Chinese and a Norwegian hostage, who were identified by ISIS's English-language magazine Dabiq  as Fan Jinghui, a freelance consultant from China, and Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad from Norway.

The group did not specify when or where the two had been captured.

The Foreign Ministry said then that the description given by the ISIS about Fan matches a Chinese missing abroad, adding that China is firmly opposed to violence against innocent civilians.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2015)