There are up to 20 Western hostages being held captive by Islamic radicals in Syria as the world responds to the beheading of American journalist James Foley.
The Islamic State and other militant groups have captured numerous aid workers in the war-torn region as well as American journalist Steven Sotloff, The Telegraph reports.
Sotloff — who the Islamic State announced is next in line to die if President Obama doesn’t stop airstrikes in the region — is a freelance reporter believed to have been kidnapped Aug. 4 just after he crossed into Syria.
Two of the abducted workers have been identified as Vanessa Marzullo, 21, and Greta Ramelli, 20, both from Italy.
They disappeared in Syria near Aleppo toward the beginning of August and are being held by a Syrian opposition group known as Ahrar ash Sham, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
The girls are believed to be in good condition and a ransom is in the works for their release.
Ramelli’s mother, Antonella, describes her daughter as someone who has always been devoted to helping those in need.
Despite the criticism she has received for giving Greta her blessing to travel to Syria, Antonella said the decision was not a difficult one.
“When you hear your daughter say, ‘Mama, in that country they are killing children, I must go and help,’ what can you say?” she told Italian newspaper Prealpina.
“Can you go back on all the teaching and the values you have tried to instill for a lifetime? Can you change your daughter, who has these values and has strong ideals about solidarity and human empathy.”
In addition, three aid workers abducted last October while working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are also in the custody of Islamic militants in Syria, the Telegraph reports.
The nationalities, genders and ages of the workers have not been released, but the Red Cross did say they were among a group of seven aid workers who were kidnapped in the region. The four others were released shortly after their capture.
“Intensive efforts are ongoing behind the scenes to secure the release of the remaining three colleagues, through the ICRC’s broad network on the ground,” a Red Cross spokesman told the Telegraph.
“We cannot provide details about this for the sake of the ongoing safety of our colleagues still abducted.”