Local Editor

Negotiators have lost contact with a group of nuns kidnapped from a Syrian town last year after the extremist group moved them, a source said.
The 13 nuns and three maids were kidnapped from the famed Christian hamlet of Maaloula last year and transported to the nearby town of Yabroud, a rebel stronghold the army is fighting to recapture.

"I was in regular contact with them, but since yesterday we've lost contact," a source involved in negotiations said.

He further stated: "It is very likely that they have been transferred to the region between Yabroud and the Lebanese border nearby."

"Contacts are underway to try to ensure their safety," the source mentioned.
The source said the kidnappers were from a group belonging to the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front led by a man called Abu Malek al-Kuwaiti.
"Things that are difficult to achieve," the source added.

The nuns, from both Syria and Lebanon, were kidnapped from a convent in Maaloula in December.

They were moved to Yabroud, a terrorist group stronghold that has become the last opposition holdout in the Qalamoun region and now at the center of fierce battles.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team