Diplomats verify claims of Russian man's execution by Islamic State in Syria
Russia's Embassy in Damascus is verifying reports claiming that Islamic State militants had executed a Russian engineer.
"The embassy is verifying information published in Russian media citing American publications that S. [Sergei] Gorbunov was allegedly executed," a diplomatic mission spokesman told Interfax.
According to earlier news reports, Islamic State militants executed Russian engineer Sergei Gorbunov in the spring of 2014.
A video was posted online in October that showed a Russian citizen asking the Russian and Syrian authorities to exchange him for a citizen of Saudi Arabia through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
It was reported later that the Kataib al Muhajireen extremist group, active near the Syrian city of Aleppo, had claimed responsibility for the abduction of engineer Gorbunov.
A Russian Foreign Ministry source told Interfax on October 24 that the Russian Embassy in Damascus was verifying media reports claiming that Russian citizen Sergei Gorbunov had been abducted, presumably by an extremist group.
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