Tag: Jacques Mourad

IS recaptures ‘symbol of interfaith coexistence’ Syrian town

October 6, 2017 Syria Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Qaryatain, Syria

Islamic State (IS) jihadists have regained control of a town believed to be home to hundreds of Christian families. The group launched a surprise attack on the town of Al-Qaryatain, which was being guarded by government forces, early on Sunday. The town, in the central province of Homs, is known . . . Read More

Patriarch in ‘freed’ Syrian town: ‘IS killed 21’

April 11, 2016 Syria Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Qaryatain, Syria

A visit by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch to the Syrian town of Qaryatain has shed light on on the town, . Twenty-one Christians were murdered and another 300 Christians remained in the town after IS over-ran it in August 2015, . The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch said some died while trying . . . Read More

ISIS loses Syrian town with Christian legacy

April 5, 2016 Syria Homs, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Qaryatain, Syria

The Syrian government has claimed victory over the Islamic State in Qaryatain, a Syrian town with a notable Christian presence. “Army units, backed by the Syrian and Russian Air Forces, restored security to Qaryatain and the farms surrounding it in south-eastern Homs,” . Islamic State’s apparent loss of Qaryatain comes . . . Read More

Syrian priest describes time with ISIS

November 10, 2015 Syria Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Syria

Syrian priest Jacques Mourad, who was held by the Islamic State for nearly three months and threatened with execution, has spoken for the first time about his ordeal. Fr. Mourad was abducted from Qaryatain in May and escaped in October. In an interview with the BBC, he describes his kidnapping . . . Read More

37 Assyrian Christians released in Syria

November 9, 2015 Syria Assyrians, Hasakah, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Khabur, Qaryatain, Syria

The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has released another 37 Assyrian Christians kidnapped nine months ago in Syria, Assyrian sources said. The group, including men and women in their sixties and seventies, were among the 253 Christians snatched in IS attacks on Assyrian villages in northeastern Syria’s Hassaka province. Three thousand . . . Read More

Catholic priest released in Syria

October 12, 2015 Syria Catholics, Homs, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Qaryatain, Syria

Fr. Jacques Mourad was set free on Saturday, 10 Oct, nearly five months after masked Islamic State (IS) gunmen kidnapped the Syriac Catholic priest in Syria’s central Homs province. Church sources told Agence France Presse that Fr. Mourad celebrated Sunday mass the following day in Zaydal village, five kilometers from . . . Read More

IS releases first execution video of Syrian Christians

October 9, 2015 Syria Assyrians, Hasakah, Hezbollah, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Khabur, Syria

A video released by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) on 7 Oct. has showed the jihadists killing three Assyrian Christian hostages with shots to the back of their heads. According to the Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights, it is the first IS video showing Christians in Syria being executed. Shown . . . Read More

Another ancient Assyrian monastery bulldozed

August 21, 2015 Syria Assyrians, Bashar al-Assad, Homs, Iraq, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Qaryatain, Raqqa, Syria

Photographs posted Thursday on Twitter accounts linked to the Islamic State destroyed in the past six months by jihadist fighters. The 5th century Mar Elian Monastery in Syria’s western Homs province was located on the outskirts of Qaryatain city, captured by IS militants two weeks ago from Assad regime control. An . . . Read More

Jihadists release Syrian priest, 22 elderly Assyrians

August 19, 2015 Syria Assyrians, Boulos Yazigi, Catholics, Hasakah, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Khabur, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Qaryatain, Sadad, Syria, Yohanna Ibrahim

Five weeks after Fr. Antoine Boutros and his driver were kidnapped on their way to Sunday mass in southern Syria’s Suweida province on July 12, the Catholic parish priest has been released. Disclosure of the 50-year-old priest’s release on Aug. 15 came from the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, . . . Read More

Iraqi Franciscan priest abducted in northwest Syria

July 8, 2015 Syria Al-Nusra Front, Assyrians, Boulos Yazigi, Greek Orthodox, Hasakah, Idlib, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Kidnapping, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Syria, Yohanna Ibrahim

Father Dhiya Aziz was kidnapped by militants from Yacoubieh, Idlib Province, where he serves as parish priest on Sat 4th July. The militants were purportedly taking him for a brief meeting with the Emir who exercises authority in that area, which is under the control of the Al-Qaeda affiliate group, . . . Read More

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