Several U.S. and European citizens were taken hostage by the Islamic State in Syria earlier this week, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking at a conference in Sochi on Thursday, Putin said ISIS seized nearly 700 hostages in parts of Syria controlled by U.S.-backed forces. The terrorists issued an ultimatum promising to execute 10 people every day, according to Reuters.
“According to our data, several citizens of both the United States and European countries were taken hostage. Everyone is silent, some kind of silence, as if nothing is happening,” he said.
“Representatives of the Islamic State were left in several localities, and recently they began to expand their area of presence – 130 families were taken there, almost 700 people, hostages.”
He added that ISIS was expanding its control in territory controlled by U.S. and U.S.-backed forces in Syria.
He did not specify what the terrorists’ demands were.