Journalist and writer held hostage for five months in Syria 'overheard captor's conversation blaming rebels for chemical attacks'

Domenico Quirico and Pierre Piccinin de Prata were kidnapped in April

The pair say that they overheard a conversation on Skype in English

They claim one of the men identified himself as a Free Syria Army general

The pair were released and returned to Italy and Belgium on Sunday



An Italian journalist and a Belgian writer who were held hostage in Syria for five months have claimed that they overheard a conversation suggesting that rebel forces were behind a chemical weapon attack on Damascus and not President Assad's army.

Domenico Quirico and Pierre Piccinin de Prata were kidnapped while working in the war torn country in April.

The pair were released on Sunday night and have now said that they heard a conversation between their captors in English on Skype in which they allegedly revealed that rebels launched the attack to prompt Western forces to intervene.

Claims: Italian journalist Domenico Quirico, pictured after arriving in Italy on Sunday, claims to have overheard a conversation blaming rebel forces for chemical attacks in Damascus

Quirico, a veteran reporter for La Stampa daily with vast experience of reporting on conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, told the newspaper: 'In this conversation, they said that the gas attack on two neighborhoods of Damascus was launched by the rebels as a provocation to lead the West to intervene militarily.

'We were unaware of everything that was going on during our detention in Syria, and therefore also with the gas attack in Damascus.'

Although Mr Quirico was quick to point out that he had no proof that the claims made in the conversation were genuine or who the men involved really were, he alleges that one of three men involved in the exchange identified himself as a Free Syria Army general.

Badly treated: Pictured with Italian Foreign minister Emma Bonino, Quirico claims that he and his fellow captive were subjected to daily beatings

His fellow captive, Mr Piccinin de Prata told Belgian radio station RTL that he had a 'moral duty' to share what he heard.

Since they were released on Sunday, the pair have spoken of their ordeal at the hands of their captors, who were thought to be from the Free Syria Army.

The men told reporters that they were beaten on a daily basis and subjected to two mock executions.



Piccinin said that they were treated as though they were 'subhuman'.

Contradictory: Meanwhile a Western official told Foreign Policy magazine that the UN inspection team, pictured in Syria last month, has a 'weatlh' of evidence that President Assad was behind the chemical attacks

Question marks: A UN report to Ban Ki-Moon on Monday will not direct point the finger at President Assad, pictured, but will provide strong circumstantial evidence it has been alleged

But Foreign Policy magazine claims that UN inspectors will present a 'wealth' of evidence to Ban Ki-Moon on Monday that President Assad's regime was behind the August 21 attacks.

According to the magazine, an unnamed Western official with knowledge of the inspection claims that the team's report will not directly point the finger at Assad, but will provide plenty of circumstantial evidence.

The UN team has examined rocket casings, ammunition, tested soil and taken blood and urine samples from victims.

The source told Foreign Policy: 'I know they have gotten very rich samples - biomedical and environmental - and they have interviewed victims, doctors and nurses.

'It seems they are very happy with the wealth of evidence they've got.'

Both Syria and their Russian allies have previously claimed that the rebels were responsible for the attacks and that they have evidence to prove it.

Bloody: The conflict in Syria has so far claimed more than 100,000 lives



