French-Japanese couple missing since leaving for ISIS-controlled area
They wanted to travel to the region to engage in "humanitarian assistance"
A French-Japanese couple who planned to visit areas controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group went missing after leaving Tokyo last month, reports and a source said Monday.
The Algerian-French husband and his Japanese wife, both Muslims in their 20s, had told Japanese officials they wanted to travel to the region to engage in "humanitarian assistance" but denied they would take part in any fighting.
Officials from both the Japanese and French governments -- who initially obtained details about the plan from Japanese security authorities -- tried in vain to persuade the couple not to travel to the region, said a source familiar with the situation.
Japanese media reported similar details Monday.
In early November the couple left Japan and entered Turkey before going to a town near the border with Syria. Their movements since then are unknown.
Tokyo is trying to trace their whereabouts, including the possibility that the couple crossed into areas controlled by ISIS which holds swathes of Iraq and Syria.
On Sunday the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that members of the militant group have murdered nearly 2,000 people in Syria since June.
The jihadist group often records killings on video and posts footage on the Internet, a tactic which experts say is meant to sow fear among civilians and rival groups, as well as to attract new recruits.
-
Australian ‘model militant’ dumps catwalk for ISIS
Sharky Jama is now believed to have joined ISIS militants and is living in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, 70 kilometers west of Baghdad Variety -
Downing of Jordan’s F-16: An anti-ISIS game changer
The downing of the Jordanian F-16 over Syria’s Raqqa last week could be a major turning point Middle East -
Iraqi forces launch offensive on ISIS in Dhuluiyah
Backed by Sunni tribes, Iraqi forces advanced into the town of Dhuluiyah north of Baghdad to push out ISIS militants Middle East -
U.S.-led forces launch 13 strikes in Syria, Iraq
While in Syria, the air strikes centered on the town of Kobani, in Iraq it targeted ISIS positions near Sinjar and Mosul Middle East -
Anti-ISIS Syria tribesmen among 2,000 ‘executed’
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 930 members of the anti-ISIS Shaitat tribe were among those killed by the militants since June Middle East -
McCain meets Barzani, commends Peshmerga efforts against ISIS
uring his visit, McCain also met with Kurdish PM Nechirvan Barzani and Peshmerga commanders Middle East -
Car bomb hits diplomatic security building in Libyan capital
ISIS said it carried out the bombing Middle East -
ISIS boy ‘suicide bomber’ surrenders in Iraq
Usaid Barbo walked up to a mosque in Baghdad’s neighborhood of Baiya that he had been ordered to target in a suicide attack Features