Armed gang groups kidnapped 260 passengers after stopping five buses traveling from Afrin to Qamişlo in western Kurdistan last Saturday.

According to the reports received, five buses were stopped by al-Qaeda affiliated armed groups in the Azzaz region on 24 August. Militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) and the jihadist al-Nusra Front kidnapped 260 passengers in the buses and took them to the city of Akhtarin between Azzaz and Misilmiye. The kidnapped civilians were later taken to Kefer Hamra. They were released 48 hours later.

Speaking about the incident, a passenger, said that the gang members subjected the kidnapped civilians to brutal torture and beheaded one among them on the grounds that he cooperated with the Syrian regime. The passenger said that five Êzidî Kurds are still being held by the gang groups.

Local sources report that no news has been received since 22 August from 65 passengers who were travelling from Afrin to Qamişlo in two buses which are thought to have got stuck in the clashes area.

Owners of the bus companies remarked that there were women, children and ill people among the passengers and called for support to reach them.