The
following excerpts are from AINA.org:
Someone
should tell ISIS: The orange jumpsuits no longer draw the world's
attention as they did a year ago when American journalist James Foley
became one of the terror group's first victims to be executed on
camera wearing one.
In
early October, three men crouched in sand wearing the orange
one-piece outfits--all Assyrian Christians from northeastern Syria.
They were shown being shot in the head and killed in a video released
by ISIS. Those living in the United States most likely didn't see the
one-minute video clip. A few Arabic-language media outlets carried
reports of the latest filmed execution and some showed the video, but
in the United States no news outlets televised it, and only a few
reported it at all.
Yet
the footage is the first from ISIS, or Islamic State, of Syrian
Christians being executed. It also carried threats of further
killings against hundreds of Assyrian Christians who have been held
hostage for months, according to the Assyrian Monitor for Human
Rights.
With
the camera rolling and a brisk wind flapping their sleeves, the three
men kneeling in the sand said they were "Nasrani," a Muslim
pejorative for Christians. They recited their names and hometowns:
Ashur Abraha of Tel Tamar, Basam Essa Michael of Tel Shamiram, and
Dr. Abdulmasih Enwiya of Jazira. Two gave their dates of birth. Three
men wearing desert camouflage and black masks next stepped behind
them, each raising a handgun to shoot each of the three Christians in
the head. The victims' bodies slumped forward, and seconds later
three more men appeared kneeling behind the dead men, the
executioners pointing guns at their heads also.
As
with the first segment, each hostage recited his name and hometown,
but one of them--in what looks like a scripted gesture--pointed to
the bodies on the ground and said, "Our fate is the same as
these if you do not take proper procedure for our release." With
that, the video ended.
The
three killed and the three apparently left alive all are confirmed
part of a group of 250 Assyrians abducted in February after Islamic
State attacked about 35 villages along the Khabur River in Hasakah
Province. ISIS killed at least 15 young Assyrian Christians in the
attacks as they tried to protect the towns, and militants rounded up
hundreds and took them hostage in the overnight raids--leaving 1,400
Assyrian families unable to return to their homes (see "One
family's night flight from ISIS," March 5, 2015). ISIS released
several dozen captives, mostly elderly, leaving about 180 still held.
At
that time, church leaders reported American aircraft flew over the
area but took no action.
Read
more by clicking below:
Assyrians Largely Ignored By U.S. and Other Western Officials
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