- The women are holding signs on which their names and a date is written
- They could be among over 220 Assyrians that ISIS kidnapped in February
- It is feared they will be sold to ISIS fighters if a ransom is not paid for them
- Christian, Jewish captives previously enjoyed 'limited protection' from ISIS
- It now reportedly claims that abusing anyone who is not Muslim is allowed
Published:
09:59 GMT, 15 August 2015
|
Updated:
10:30 GMT, 15 August 201541
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Disturbing images which have appeared online could be of three Assyrian Christian women ISIS abducted in February.
In
three 'leaked' images shared on social media, the women hold pieces of
paper on which their names and a date - July 27, 2015 - are written.
It
is feared this means they will be sold to ISIS fighters if their
families or charities do not pay ransom for their release, although no
figure appears on the signs they hold.
On
Tuesday, ISIS released 22 of more than 220 Christians they snatched
from several Assyrian farming communities it raided in Iraq's
north-eastern Hassakeh province, Syria, earlier this year.
The
Assyrian Federation of Sweden has told MailOnline the women's surnames
resemble those of families who lived in the region, although they cannot
completely verify they are Christians.
Hostage: One woman stands over her young daughter holding a sign which reads Susan Elias along with the date July 27, 2015
Prisoner: A second suspected Christian hostage (pictured) holds up another sign which suggests her name is Hannaa Assaf Youssef
Captive: A third
woman, whose names the Assyrian Federation of Sweden could not
accurately make out, is surrounded by her three children
It also said the theory of them being ransomed off to fund ISIS is plausible but, once again, difficult to confirm.
One woman stands over her young daughter holding a sign which reads Susan Elias along with the date July 27, 2015.
The
second, who is alone, is called Hannaa Assaf Youssef. The third woman
is surrounded by what appears to be her own three children but the
writing on the sign could not be made out accurately.
'The
names resemble the family names of people in a nearby village - Tel
Jazire - so it is possible that these women could be from Assyrian
villages but we cannot confirm that,' a source at the Assyrian Federation of Sweden said.
MailOnline's
source, who is herself from the Assyrian village of Tel Shamiram,
added: 'These names are names you find in Assyrian villages.'
Regarding
the women being ransomed, the Federation said: 'It is a theory and it
makes sense but we can not 100 per cent say that this will happen.'
Their
images have emerged at the same time as a suspected ISIS video, thought
to be filmed on July 17, which features eight kidnapped Assyrian men.
Each one reads out his name and the village they were from.
Help us:
Another video has emerged which appears to show eight of the abducted
Assyrian men (pictured) asking the 'international community to help
secure their release'
Raid: On Tuesday, ISIS (file photo)
released 22 of more than 220 Christians they snatched from several
Assyrian farming communities it raided in Iraq's north-eastern Hassakeh
province
The
Assyrian Federation of Sweden, who translated the Arabic video for
MailOnline, were certain these men were among more than 200 Assyrian
Christians abducted by ISIS around the Khabur River region in February.
Its
spokesman Afram Yakoub said: 'They state their names in the video and
we have a list of the hostages so we can clearly see they are one of
them.
'No
ISIS fighter appears in the video but the last man clearly says we call
on the international community to secure our release but he does not
say anything about ransom.'
Their health and general appearance suggest, as ISIS have claimed, that they have not been harmed.
Islamic
State fighters have abducted and sexually abused hundreds of women from
northern Iraq's Yazidi community since it raided their villages last
year.
But
captured Christians and Jews have enjoyed more protection from the
fighters because they regard them as 'People of the Book'.
The terror group may now have changed that stance, according to a recent New York Times interview with an abused Yazidi girl.
The
vile ISIS fighter who raped the 12-year-old girl allegedly told her
that 'what he was about to do was not a sin' because she 'practiced a
religion other than Islam'.
ISIS
also made clear in a 34-page manual released by its 'Research and Fatwa
Department' that sex with Christians and Jews who were 'captured in
battle' was also allowed.
Fightback: A Kurdish fighter
(pictured) fires an anti-aircraft weapon at ISIS fighters from the
village of Tel Tawil where many Assyrian Christians were captured in
February
Exodus: Many Assyrians (pictured)
packed up their belongings and fled to safety when ISIS stormed the the
Khabur River region of Syria in February
Earlier
this week, 22 of more than 220 Assyrian Christians were released. The
Assyrian Federation of Sweden, which has followed the case, said it
brings the total number of freed Assyrians to 45.
It claimed 14 of them were women and the freed hostages were taken to the Virgin Mary Church in the city of Hassakeh
The
Assyrian Human Rights Network said 14 of those released were women. The
freed hostages were taken to the Virgin Mary Church in the city of
Hassakeh, the network added.
The
British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said tribal leaders
mediated the release of the 22, adding that money has been paid for the
released group.
Only
last week, ISIS kidnapped 230 Christians and Muslims in Syria,
according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights who feared they
were destined for death and slavery.
At least 60 of them are thought to be Christian and although nearly half were later released, the fate of the others is unknown.
The terrorists seized the town of Qaryatain after suicide bombers targeted army checkpoints at the entrance.
At least 45 women and 19 children were among the kidnapped while hundreds of others are thought to be missing.
Christians make up around ten per cent of Syria's pre-war population of 23million people.
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