Video shows abducted Italians pleading for release

A new video shows two Italian female aid workers kidnapped by militants in Syria earlier this year calling on Rome to make efforts to secure their release.

The footage purportedly shows Vanessa Marzullo and Greta Ramelli, who had been abducted in the Syrian province of Aleppo last August.

The 23-second-long video is titled online as the “Al-Nusra Front detains two Italian employees because of their government’s participation in the coalition against it.”

It is not known which group has kidnapped the women, as the video was not posted by an official account belonging to a specific militant group.

Throughout the video, one of the women is holding a paper with the date December 17 written on it. The other asks the Italian government to secure her release before Christmas.

The speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Laura Boldrini, said it was reassuring that the two women were alive and in good health.

The Italian Foreign Ministry, which had earlier denied reports that the women had been taken by ISIL militants, has not yet commented on the matter.

Many foreign aid workers and journalists have been kidnapped and killed in Syria over the past few years.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly conflict since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, according to reports.

The ISIL terrorists control some parts of Iraq and Syria. They are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control. They have terrorized and killed people of all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.