At least fifty Christians in Qaryatayn taken hostage last August by jihadists of the Islamic State (Daesh) were released on Sunday 11 October, and were able to return to the villages of Zaydal and Fairuzeh in an area controlled by the Syrian government army. Their release, confirmed by the media linked to the Assyrian community, took place a few hours after the release of Syrian priest Jacques Murad, Prior of the Monastery of Mar Elian, who was carrying out negotiations to restore freedom to more than 200 Christians and Muslims in Qaryatayn still under the control of the jihadists of Daesh.
The fate of the other group of more than two hundred Assyrian Christians and Syrians in the Khabur valley, kidnapped by jihadists during the offensive conducted in that area by the militia of the Islamic State last February remains unknown. Last week (see Fides 08/10/2015), jihadi websites released the video in which one can see the scene of three Christians in the Khabur valley who are killed by three jihadist executioners, and threaten new executions of Christian hostages if the ransom the kidnappers demand for their release is not paid.
Source: Fides News
