Kidnapped
Weinstein is kidnapped by a group of armed men who break into his home in Lahore. The Pakistani ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani:
The Pakistani police and intelligence officials are investigating. We will ensure U.S. officials are fully informed of the investigations.
Kidnapped with Foley
Cantlie is traveling in the same vehicle with Foley when both were abducted. A media blackout is put in place that lasts almost a year and a half, in an effort to protect the two.
Henning abducted
Henning is abducted 30 minutes after the aid convoy he is traveling with crosses the border from Turkey into Syria, a journey of only four miles. He had insisted on joining the convoy of former NHS ambulances delivering defibrillators, stethoscope sand oxygen to a hospital in Idlib instead of remaining at home in Eccles, Greater Manchester, with his wife and two children. Convoy organiser Kasim Jameel, a taxi driver from Bolton:
Alan is a man who is full of compassion and we are just praying to Allah that he is released safe and sound. We are liaising with the authorities and we do not want to say anything which might put him in any further jeopardy or which will inflame the situation. I could tell a lot of stories about the good that Alan has done and about how, as a non Muslim, he has helped Muslims who have suffered in the conflict. He is motivated to help others – not just by helping the convoy but by loads of other things as well. He is the nicest of nice guys who has done so much to help other people. He is just a normal bloke, an everyday taxi driver who wanted to do good. We are thinking about him all the time and praying that he will be allowed home to his family.
Kurdish boys kidnapped
Over 140 Kurdish junior high school boys, on their way home from taking final exams, are kidnapped by armed fighters. The boys are forcibly removed from buses driving children back to their homes in Ayn al-Arab, and are transported by truck to the ISIS controlled city Manbij in northern Syria. The boys are being taught about jihad and Sharia doctrines, are forced to watch videos depicting torture and execution, and are receiving military training. Human Rights Watch states in a report on the abduction:
Former recruits described how leaders gave children particularly difficult or dangerous tasks and encouraged them to volunteer for suicide attacks.
Visits Israeli family of kidnap victim
Huckabee’s first stop in Israel is to visit the family of kidnap victim, Naftali Frankle.
(I came here to) show solidarity with the Frenkel family. This is a young man who is also an American citizen; and I am here not just as an American, but as a father.
Unidentified group kidnaps female aid workers
The Italian foreign ministry confirms that two female aid workers have been kidnapped in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. It says contact with Greta Ramelli, 20, and Vanessa Marzullo, 21, is currently ‘impossible.’ Il Foglio newspaper journalist Daniele Raineri of is reported to have been taken hostage along with them but managed to escape, and says that they were abducted on Aug. 1 and taken to the town of El Ismo, west of Aleppo, where they were transported to the home of the head of the local ‘Revolutionary Council’. The kidnappers have yet to be identified but investigators are quoted as saying they believe it is a group that has previously taken Western journalists and activists hostage.
Kidnaps 50 men
ISIS militants kidnap 50 men from a district on the edge of the Sunni town of Hawija in the northern region of Kirkuk, a day after the fighters left the district in anticipation of an attack by the Iraqi military. Militants load the men onto vehicles and drive off. Town residents say they are unsure why the abductions have occurred as the town has not actively resisted ISIS.
Kidnapped
Sortor is suspected to have been kidnapped for ransom while doing missionary work in central Nigeria. Kogi state police spokesman:
[The kidnappers were…] unknown gunmen…(who) came into the school premises shooting sporadically to scare away people before taking (the hostage) away into the bush. We are hopeful of finding her. Our suspicion is that she was picked up for ransom.
Kidnaps 230 civilians
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that ISIS abducted 230 civilians, including at least 60 Christians, in Al-Qaryatain hours after the group captured the town. Many of the Christians had fled from Aleppo province, in Syria’s north, to seek refuge in Al-Qaryatain. SOHR says those abducted were wanted by ISIS for ‘collaborating with the regime’ and their names were on a list used by the jihadists as they swept through the town. Families who tried to flee or hide were tracked down and taken by the jihadists. Al-Qaryatain lies at the crossroads between ISIS territory in the eastern countryside of Homs and areas further west in the Qalamun area.
Pregnant swedish teenager held
A pregnant 15-year-old Swedish girl is being held by ISIS in Syria after running away from her foster home with her boyfriend to join al-Qaida. Swedish Foreign Ministry:
We have been informed that a Swedish minor is in Syria. We are in contact with family members,
The 15-year-old, whose name is not disclosed, disappeared from her foster home in Boras, near the south-western town of Gothenburg, on 31 May. It said she is six months pregnant. She and her 19-year-old boyfriend married in a Muslim ceremony in Stockholm earlier this year without their parents’ knowledge and reportedly travelled to Syria via Turkey, where they were recruited by an al-Qaida-linked group. The couple were captured by ISIS fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, and have been moved to an ISIS-controlled area. The boyfriend has been forced to fight for the jihadist group. The daughter had called her parents at least three times while being held by Isis after women secretly lent her a cell phone. Mother:
I spoke to her yesterday and found out she has been moved to a group of women. She is not allowed to be with her boyfriend because they aren’t considered married by [ISIS]. She was very sad and very scared. We don’t know how to get her out of the country. Now she’s in an [ISIS]-controlled area so it will be even harder.
The father says that his daughter might be moved to live with a group of women in Manbij, a town north-east of Aleppo, if ISIS militants did not recognise the marriage.
Captures Norwegian, Chinese men
Islamic State claims it has taken Grimsgaard-Ofstad, a Norwegian, and Fan, a freelance consultant from Beijing, hostage. The Dabiq online magazine posts photos of the men wearing yellow prison outfits, but does not say where or when they were captured. The magazine lists a telegram number for:
whoever would like to pay the ransom for his release and transfer.
Norwegian Prime Minister Solberg says Grimsgaard-Ofstad was captured at the end of January.
The kidnappers have presented a series of demands and significant amounts of ransom money,. We cannot give in and won’t give in to pressure from terrorists and criminals. Norway does not pay ransom…Our goal is to get our citizen home. But let me be very clear, this is a very demanding case.
Chinese officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tourists kidnapped
Two Canadians (Ridsel and Hall), a Norwegian (Sekkingstad) and a local woman are kidnapped by gunmen from Holiday Ocean View Resort on Samal Island, southern Philippines. Two Japanese tourists try to intervene to prevent the kidnapping, which takes place shortly before midnight. The Filipino woman has not been identified, but she is said to be the partner of one of the kidnapped Canadians. Police say a naval blockade is being set up around the island to stop kidnappers from reaching another island.
Killed by miners
Deputy Interior Minister Illanes is beaten to death after he was kidnapped by striking mineworkers, who had blocked a major highway near Panduro, around 160 km (100 miles) from capital city La Paz. Officials said he died of blows to the head. Illanes’ assistant was also badly beaten and is in intensive care in a hospital in La Paz. President Morales calls for three days of national mourning and declares a day of “deep pain” for the country. Up to 100 people have been arrested as authorities vowed to punish those responsible. Prosecutor:
The cause of death was basically bleeding in the brain. Ribs were also broken.