Videos of Japanese and Italian captives in Syria released

WASHINGTON: An extremist group has released videos of a Japanese journalist and an Italian man held captive in Syria in which they appeal for their release, US-based monitors said.

The two men – Japanese freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda and Italian national Alessandro Sandrini – appear in two separate videos that are similar in their staging and were released by the SITE group, which tracks white supremacist and extremist organisations.

SITE did not say which group was responsible for the videos.

Both men are shown kneeling in front of a wall wearing orange jumpsuits while armed men dressed in black from head to toe stand behind them.

Yasuda is thought to have been abducted by the Al-Nusra Front, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, in northern Syria in 2015.

He identifies himself as Korean in the video but speaks Japanese, giving the recording date as July 25, stating that he is in a bad situation and asking for help.

Sandrini gives a different date, July 19, and says it is his last request to the Italian government.

He was kidnapped in Turkey in October 2016 before being taken to Syria, according to reports in the Italian media.

Sandrini is believed to be from Brescia and is said to be around 32 years old.