Headlines
Catholic priest abducted in Syria by IS-linked jihadis
Homs (Syria), May 23
Jacques Murad, the
Catholic priest abducted in central Syria this week was seized by
jihadis linked to the Islamic State militant group, according to sources
quoted by the Syrian pro-government radio station Sham Fm.
Catholic
news agency Fides reported on Friday that Murad, the prior of the Mar
Elian Monastery on the outskirts of Qaryatayn in central Syria, was most
likely kidnapped on Monday.
Murad was seized by two armed men
aboard motorbikes, who arrived at the monastery, forced him into his car
and drove off with him.
Qaryatayn is around 60 kms southwest of the city of Homs, where the archdiocese confirmed Murad's kidnapping.
The
archdiocese of Homs did not confirm that deacon Boutros Hanna was
abducted with Murad, which was claimed by some reports, according to
Fides.
Murad is from the same order as Italian priest Paolo
Dall'Oglio, of whom there has been no trace since he was abducted on
July 29, 2013, in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in northern
Syria.