Damascus, Syria, Oct 10, 2013 / 11:53 am
A Jesuit priest missing since July is alive in an area of northern Syria that is controlled by an Islamist opposition group allied with Al-Qaida, one reporter has said.
"Father Paolo Dall'Oglio is alive and is being treated well by his kidnappers," Khalaf Ali Khalaf, a reporter and activist opposed to the Syrian government, told Aki-Adnkronos International news agency.
Khalaf said the Italian-born priest was seen on Saturday, Oct. 5 in an area controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a group active in both Iraq and Syria. He did not name his sources on the grounds he wanted to protect them from reprisals.
The priest disappeared from the northern Syrian city of Raqqa on July 28. A website favoring the Syrian government previously reported that the priest had been executed, but neither the Vatican nor the Italian government could confirm the claim.