ISIS Threatens To Kill A Croatian Hostage If Egypt Does Not Meet Its Demands In 48 Hours

ISIS has threatened to kill a Croatian citizen if its demands to the Egyptian government are not met within 48 hours.

In a video titled “A Message to the Egyptian Government”, which Egyptian Streets has chosen not to publish, the Croatian hostage identifies himself as 31-year-old Tomislav Salopek while a masked man in camouflage uniform stands behind him brandishing a knife.

Tomislav, who is shown kneeling down on the sand with an ISIS flag at full mast behind him, reveals he is married and has two children. In the video, the hostage also confirms earlier reports in Croatian media that he works for the French company CGG, a company that specializes in oil and gas geology.

With the masked man standing firmly behind, Tomislav continues to reveal details of his kidnapping, which he reads off a small white paper.

“Soldiers of the Islamic State in the Caliphate of Wilayat Sinai caught me on Wednesday July 22nd,” says Tomislav as he reads from the paper.

“They want to swap me for Muslim women arrested in Egyptian prisons. This must be achieved before 48 hours from now. If not, the soldiers of the Wilayat Sinai will kill me,” continues Tomislav as the video comes to an end.

Wilayat Sinai is the name currently used by the IS-affiliated Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis, a Sinai-based terrorist organization that has been responsible for dozens of attacks in Egypt since the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

The latest video comes two weeks after reports that a Croatian man had been kidnapped in Cairo by armed men.

Citing the Foreign Ministry, Reuters reported that the 31-year-old man, identified only as T.S., was kidnapped on Wednesday morning when his vehicle was stopped by armed men.

“His car was stopped by an armed group who forced the driver to leave the car and then took off in an unknown direction,” stated the Ministry according to Reuters.

Egypt’s authorities have yet to make a statement on the kidnapping. However, sources indicate that Croatia’s Ambassador to Cairo is currently meeting with Egyptian officials.

The warning from ISIS comes one day before Egypt is set to inaugurate its ‘New Suez Canal’ in an event that will see world dignitaries, including French President Francois Hollande, in attendance.

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