The terrified faces of 14 women kidnapped by Islamic State were sent to their families over the weekend and began to circulate online. The women, young and old, are shown against the backdrop of the black and white ISIS flag. Now ISIS has demanded that the Damascus regime stop the offensive against the ISIS pocked in the Yarmouk valley near the Golan, or the women will be harmed. Druze in Israel expressed solidarity and sympathy with coreligionists after the massacre.
The women were kidnapped by ISIS last Wednesday when the extremists attacked the Druze area around Suwayda, murdering more than 250 civilians. In an interview with Middle East Forum Research Fellow Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Druze local Suwayda leader Abbas Abu Shaheen said that 90% of those who were killed were civilians.