After prompting global disgust by beheading two American journalists, ISIS has reminded the world it's not only the West that's been targeted by its brutality toward prisoners. The militant group has now executed a second Lebanese captive.
According to The Daily Star, Abbas Medlej was killed for attempting to escape after pretending to go to the bathroom.
He was one of at least 27 Lebanese soldiers captured by ISIS and the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front after the terror groups attacked the Lebanese border town of Arsal in August.
A previous soldier killing sparked a recent anti-ISIS campaign over social media in Lebanon, as people burned ISIS' black flag and posted videos online.
As reported by Al Jazeera in July, ISIS has beheaded many Syrian soldiers and according to the Los Angeles Times at least one Kurdish soldier was beheaded in late August.
And Lebanese citizens aren’t only protesting on social media. Much to the dismay of the government, they’re also taking to the streets.
The Independent writes that families of the remaining soldiers are blocking roadways in an attempt to get the Lebanese government to agree to ISIS’s demand of releasing jailed Islamists.
Although, predictably, the killings of Western journalists have received more attention in the U.S., ISIS holds hostages from all around the globe.
David Haines is one of them. A former British aid worker, Haines was shown in the latest ISIS beheading video, still alive.
Forty-nine Turkish citizens were taken hostage after the northern Iraqi town of Mosul was stormed by ISIS in June. Businessweek writes that it may be these hostages who’ve kept the Eurasian country from taking any action against the rebel group.
And ABC reported in August that a third American is currently being held by ISIS — an woman who was working as an aid worker in Aleppo.
CNN says that knowing just how many Westerners held by ISIS is difficult because “governments, employers and families tend to keep kidnappings quiet for fear of putting the victims in greater danger while negotiators work to secure their release.”
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Syria has ranked as the deadliest country for journalists for two years in a row now. The group estimates 30 journalists are currently missing in Syria, with some of them in the hands of ISIS.
