Daesh affiliate in Egypt kills Croatian hostage

CAIRO

A Daesh affiliate in Egypt said Wednesday that it had killed a Croatian hostage because of the failure by the Egyptian government to release female political prisoners.

The Wilayet Sinai (Province of Sinai) said on Twitter that it had killed Tomislav Salopek.

Salopek, 30, who worked for Ardiseis Egypt, a unit of the French firm CGG, which specializes in oil and gas geology, was abducted in Cairo on July 22.

He appeared in a video last week in which he appealed to the Egyptian government to free female political prisoners in Egyptian jails within 48 hours, warning that he would be killed by the Daesh-linked group.

There has been no comment from the Egyptian government on the report.

The Croatian Prime Minister said Wednesday that his country would not participate in the fight against Daesh despite the reports of Salopek’s brutal execution, and stressed that his government was not certain that the hostage had been killed.

"We cannot be 100 percent sure that this is true. What we saw looks terrible. I am afraid that this is the first time that a Croatian citizen has faced something that citizens of other countries have faced before," Milanovic said.  

"Croatia will not participate in the fight against the Islamic State [Daesh]," he added.

In Washington, the State Department acknowledged the Croatian government is still attempting to confirm Salopek’s death, but condemned Daesh’s violence.

“The United States stands shoulder-to- shoulder with Croatia, with Egypt and all of our friends and partners in the fight against terrorism,” spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.  

Active in the northern Sinai Peninsula, Wilayet Sinai has claimed most attacks against security forces in the past two years.