Rebel fighters will execute dozens of Iranians they kidnapped in August unless Syria’s army withdraws from the embattled Eastern Ghuta area of Damascus province, a rebel commander said on Friday.
“We gave the regime 48 hours starting yesterday to withdraw completely from the Eastern Ghuta area,” Abul Wafa, commander of the rebels’ Revolutionary Military Council in Damascus province, said via the Internet.
“We also have other secret, military demands. If the regime does not fulfill them we will start finishing off the hostages,” warned Abul Wafa.
It is the second time the rebels have issued such a threat against the Iranian hostages.
On August 5, rebels posted a video of 48 Iranians kidnapped in Damascus, charging they were elite Revolutionary Guards.
The next day, a rebel group that claimed responsibility for the kidnapping said three of the men were killed in shelling by government troops.