People abducted by gangs from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), affiliated to Al Qaeda, have described how they were tortured.

B. S., who was held hostage for 5 days by these gangs, bears the scars of this torture. Following its heavy defeats at the hands of the YPG (people's Defense Units), the ISIS abducted dozens of Kurds near the villages of Minbic and Jarablus in Aleppo province on 4 December. Other civilians were taken hostage near the village of Kestello outside Aleppo.

B. S. said he was abducted on 5 December near Kestello and held for three days by ISIS gangs, adding they had threatened to decapitate him. He told that; "The amirs (leaders) said they were going to chop off my head, but they later changed their minds and tortured me in all sorts of ways. They also took 40 thousand Syrian pounds which I had about my person." B. S. was subsequently released after signing a piece of paper promising not to use the Afrin (Arruba) - Aleppo road. He showed the marks of the torture he had suffered.

It is reported that the ISIS armed groups, which have frequently been implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity, abduct those they understand to be Kurdish after checking their identity papers at checkpoints.

In another development, armed groups affiliated to Al Qaeda are stepping up their persecution of Kurds in the Biedin neighbourhood of Aleppo. Gangs have looted Kurdish houses and workplaces and taken over the houses of Kurds who have fled the city. It is reported that these armed groups have given Kurds in the neighbourhood a week to leave their homes. The armed groups, setting up road blocks between Kurdish towns and areas, are trying to implement an embargo on West Kurdistan by forcing Kurds to flee.

Since the beginning of December dozens of civilians, including women and children, have been abducted in the area between the villages of Minbic and Jarablus. The names of 60 of those taken hostage have been established.