Iraq and Syria: Hostage Taking From the West to the Far East

Cosmina Craciunescu
MA Conflict Analysis and Management
January 30, 2015

Hostage taking is a common practice among the extremist Islamic groups such as the AQAP (alQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula), ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), ISIL (Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant) and others.
Ever since the Iran Hostage Crisis (1979-1981), the Westerners became the main target for the
extremist groups when it comes to choosing their victims. Hostage taking is not only a very
serious crime, but it is also used as a tactic by these groups in order to get important amounts of
money, along with the fact that they get a chance to humiliate the governments of the world. In a
way, it seems that hostage taking is also a practice that allows the groups to show off; in other
words, it allows them to inflict fear and terror in the minds of the people.
If it is to take a closer look into the issue of hostage taking that unfolded during 2014-2015, it
seems that the phenomena is not only affecting Americans and British, but also Italians and
Japanese.
Hostage taking is also connected to the acts of terrorism, and it proved to be a successful practice
for the terrorist groups, if it is to think about the fact that in the end, they actually get the
amounts of money demanded.
Lets look into a list of the hostage situations that occurred and were mediatized during the
autumn and winter of 2014 and were connected to the Al-Qaeda, AQAP, ISIS, and ISIL.

1. Peter Kassig - United States

Peter Kassig was a US aid worker that was abducted by ISIS in 2013. Despite his huge efforts to
survive through the ordeal, he never made it back home. It is known that Kassig even converted
to Islam in order to avoid being killed, but it seems that his acts did not lead to the desired result.
The US forces could not do anything to save Kassig, as he was murdered on the 16th of
November, 2014. To make the situation even worse, the ISIS has released a video of Kassigs
beheading

2. John Cantlie United Kingdom

John Cantlie is a British journalist who was held hostage in Syria twice. He was last kidnapped
in December of 2012 when he returned to Syria. It is known that he was subjected to electric
shocks, waterboarding and other practices of torture. It seems that nothing could be done in order
to get him out of the hands of the ISIS. Moreover, Cantlie is used in propaganda videos that are
released by the ISIS, and he is forced to present news in the way the terrorist group wants. The
last news about him were that he appeared in a propaganda video giving a tour of the city of
Mosul (as of January 3, 2015). An interesting fact is that Mr. Cantlie currently contradicts the
general opinion of the mass media about the ISIS, as he is trying to look like a free individual
that has nothing to lose.
As a personal remark, I may add that the case of Mr. Cantlie is a very special one, and he, being
the hostage, made an excruciating effort to adapt to the demands of the ISIS. It seems that he lost
hope of being rescued by the British Forces, as he appears in a picture in an article from Daily
Mail as he shouts at airplanes with sarcasm: Here! Down here! Over here! Youve come to
rescue me again? Do something! Useless! Absolutely useless!

3. Alan Henning United Kingdom

A Manchester aid worker who was captured by the ISIL in December 2013. There wasnt
anything that could be done by the officials to get him out of Syria. In October 2014 he was
beheaded by the terrorists, and a video, along with pictures of the barbarous act were released to
the international press. It was a heinous act committed by the ISIS who in the end blamed the
British government for the instability of the system.

4. Greta Ramelli and Vanessa Marzullo - Italy

Two Italian aid workers, Greta Ramelli and Vanessa Marzullo were kidnapped in Syria in July of
2014 in the northern province of Aleppo. They were aid workers providing humanitarian support
for the wounded in Syria. The two women appeared in a video dressed in black Islamic garb
stating that they were in big danger and they could be killed. Ramelli and Marzullo were released
on the 16th of January, 2015. Unconfirmed rumors reported that the ransom paid for their release
was of about $15 million.

5. Yemenis, Turkmen and Saudi Arabians

Six Yemenis, a Turkmen a Saudi Arabian and an Ethiopian were taken hostage by the AQAP in
November 2014. Fortunately they were rescued just hours after the kidnapping. There were
conflicting reports about the kidnapping in this case. One thing is for sure, the Yemenis, the
Ethiopian individual, the Saudi and the American instructor were rescued in a raid that was
orchestrated by the United States. By that time it was stipulated that AQAP funded its operations
with millions of dollars that were received as ransom for European hostages.

6. Japanese Hostages
In January 2015 there was a video released by the ISIS showing two Japanese captives, Mr.
Goto and Mr. Yukawa, dressed in orange jumpsuits. The ISIS demanded $200 million ransom
from the Japanese government to save their lives.
In this case it was argued that the captors werent actually looking for ransom money, but they
wanted to carry out a hostage exchange. This exchange involved a woman that was sentenced to
death for carrying out a bomb attack in Amman. During the bomb attack, more than 50 people
were killed.
On January 26, 2015 the IS militants confirmed the beheading of one of the Japanese citizens.
The United Nations and the Security Council had condemned the crime as being outrageous and
unforgivable, a heinous and cowardly act.
In a way, due to the situation that is unfolding in the Middle East, along with the conflict
in Syria, one can expect various news about hostage taking. Also, it is known that Western
citizens have been a target for the Islamic extremists ever since the 1979 hostage crisis, also
taking into consideration the attack carried out over the Twin Towers back in 2001. But it seems
that the desire of acquiring money and power by the Islamic extremist groups has led to hostage
taking, this time targeting not only Americans, but also Europeans and Japanese. Is it only for the
money? Is it for international recognition? Or for the desire to emerge as an unstoppable growing
power that takes over the world?
http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/urgent-wednesday-deadline-us-hostage-peter-kassig-saysisis/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2895781/British-ISIS-hostage-John-Cantlie-appearspropaganda-video-giving-tour-inside-Mosul.html
http://www.iraqinews.com/arab-world-news/urgent-video-isis-beheads-uk-aid-worker-allenhenning/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30838375

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/15/two-italian-aid-workers-freed-syria

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-yemen-hostages-20141126-story.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11391893

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11368801/Islamic-State-confirmskilling-of-Japanese-hostage.html