Relatives of Hostage Serviceman Warn of Escalation, Demand Video for Captives

Brother of captive serviceman Ibrahim Mgheit, Nizam, demanded on Tuesday the state to clarify media reports saying that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) transferred the soldiers and policemen in its captivity to Syria's Riqqa.

Mgheit urged the state to clear up the reports, expressing fear over the fate of the men.

He called on the state to task negotiators, who are following up the case, with bringing a new video for the servicemen within a week.

He also warned that the families will escalate their endeavors if they didn't receive any convincing answer.

Al-Binaa newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, reported earlier on Tuesday that soldiers were transferred to al-Riqqa, while the servicemen in the captivity of al-Nusra Front remain on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

In August, extremists from the ISIL and al-Nusra Front overran Arsal where they engaged in brief clashes with the army.

They withdrew from Arsal at the end of the fighting, but kidnapped a number of servicemen.

A few were released, four were executed, while the rest remain held.

The ISIL and al-Nusra Front want to exchange the captives with Islamist prisoners in Lebanon and Syria.

H.K.

G.K.