ISIS Targeting More Foreigners for Abduction
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The Guardian reports that Islamic State militants have abducted at least 20 foreigners in Syria, including four in recent days.
Those taken hostage by the extremist group are all reporters, photographers or aid workers.
In the latest abductions, militants grabbed a Dane, a Japanese national and two Italian women in or near the Syrian city of Aleppo, one of the flashpoints in the government’s war against rebel forces that include al Qaeda and ISIS.
According to the Guardian, some of the foreigners taken hostage have been swapped for heavy ransoms, which boosts ISIS’ coffers as it has spread its reach far into Iraq.
One of the most high-profile abductions was American journalist James Foley, who was beheaded on a video posted Tuesday that ISIS claims was in response to U.S. airstrikes against its forces near the Mosul Dam.
Unless, the U.S. ends its attacks, the group has also threatened to kill Steve Sotloff, another American journalist, who was taken hostage near the Syrian-Turkish border.
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