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Syrian parents burst into tears when they reunited with their sons on Sunday, who had been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants to work as hard laborers for months.
A father hugs his son who had been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants for months in al-Qarayatayn Town, Homs Province, central Syria, on Oct. 29, 2017. 25 kidnapped young men were freed by the Syrian army after the town was liberated last week.
The people of al-Qarayatayn town in Homs province in central Syria were pulling themselves together, trying to start their lives from scratch after the Islamic State (IS) wreaked havoc in their town before being dislodged last year.
But last month, the black-hooded militants showed up again in the town, bringing darkness back with them.
Storming homes and taking what they could of supplies, the militants started arresting young men from their homes amid the cries of the mothers and fathers, which apparently didn't break into their hardened hearts.
Families in the town said a son taken by IS means he is most certainly dead, but hope can never die. They lived a hellish situation for an entire month, not knowing whether their sons are dead or alive.
Abu Diab, a man in his 60s from the town, spoke of the horrible moment when IS stormed the town for the second time on the night of Sept.29 before being defeated there again on Oct.21.
"We suddenly found the organization (IS) here again, killing and slaughtering people as well as destroying the town and they took our sons with them," he told Xinhua.
During the 22 days of their control over the town, IS militants killed over 160 civilians, accusing them of being supporters of the government forces.
Some of the executions were public and people there witnessed them. Their mass graves were later dug out when the army entered so that the families can make proper burials for their relatives.
Mahmoud Hussain, another man, said their lives were turned upside down when the IS stormed their town again.
"Before entering the town last month, we had been living a very good life and when they suddenly stormed our area they started killing and executing people," he said.
He added that the IS militants also stormed the shops and stole everything inside and entered homes, taking the young men under the threat of guns from the hands of their families to make them work for them.
Two young man who had been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants for months are carried by people in al-Qarayatayn Town, Homs Province, central Syria, on Oct. 29, 2017.
But hope rose again when the government found 25 out of 100 kidnapped young men, with the hope that the rest could be found later as it's believed that IS took other kidnapped men to other areas that are still under IS control in southern outskirts of the town.
A father hugs his son who has been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants for months in al-Qarayatayn Town, Homs Province, central Syria, on Oct. 29, 2017.
At the main square of the town, tens of families were waiting, their eyes fixed on the main entrance.
Sure enough, a bus transporting the freed sons reached the square amid the happy shouts of the people and their happy tears to have finally united with the apple of their eyes.
A young man who had been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants for months cries while hugging his father in al-Qarayatayn Town, Homs Province, central Syria, on Oct. 29, 2017.
The scene was overwhelming, with father and mothers crying while running to hug tight their sons, who couldn't keep their composure and burst into tears while throwing themselves into the arms of their parents.
A mother hugs her son who had been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants for months in al-Qarayatayn Town, Homs Province, central Syria, on Oct. 29, 2017.
"They (IS) took us to make us their slaves and thanks God we are finally free. They forcefully took us to work for them and now I am speechless, my emotions are indescribable that I am finally here with my family," Samer, one of the freed young men, told Xinhua.
Ahmad, another freed man, said the IS militants used them as workers to move things from one place to another and also dig holes in the ground to bury the victims that were killed by IS militants.
"It felt like they were taking revenge from us, because we support the government, particularly after their first defeat in the town. The grudge they were holding was being translated in the mass killing of civilians," he said.
Inside the town, fresh slogans of IS were being removed by local workers and people there hope their town remain safe and out of reach for the terror-designated group, which is rapidly losing control in Syria, which explains the barbaric and exaggerated executions of civilians.
The town is strategically important due to its location that links areas in the Syrian desert with one another particularly in the eastern countryside of Homs province.
The town is also close to the Syrian city of Qara, a stronghold of the Hezbollah Shiite group, which is fighting alongside the Syrian army in key battlefields in the country.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
