A Coptic Christian man traveling on a microbus in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula was kidnapped by Islamic militants on January 18th.

Abeed Nakhla Yassa was traveling to the city of al-Arish, his home city which he had originally left in 2017 after Islamists killed seven Christians in a space of three weeks. According to his nephew, Abeed was traveling back to al-Arish in order to follow up on a personal business matter.

Eyewitnesses say the microbus was stopped about 50 km away from the city by a group of armed men checking IDs. The men were looking for police or military recruits but took Abeed away when they saw his ID marked Christian.

The bus was allowed to continue on its journey while Abeed was carried away by the armed men. Security officials claim that they have killed one kidnapper and injured two. Abeed, however, has not been located. It is believed that he was likely killed.

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