On the day of his abduction, Salopek was supposed to leave Egypt and return home

The driver of Tomislav Salopek, who was killed by ISIL members, says that the Croat was supposed to travel from Egypt to Croatia on the day of his abduction, writes "Večernji list", reports the Patria News Agency.

Mahmud Metvali was supposed to drive Salopek to the airport, as his contract had expired and he was supposed to return to his homeland.

“Tomislav packed his things on July 22nd, he was preparing to go home for his summer vacation, but he never made it home. Criminals and terrorists abducted him and killed him mercilessly. The abduction happened quickly and lightning-fast, like in action movies. We agreed that I would come pick him up on the 23rd and drive him to the airport“, says Metvali. 

Metvali, like Salopek, was employed by the French company CGG, and states that for the Croat, working in Egypt was a piece of cake, considering that he had worked in even more dangerous countries like Syria and Libya. 

“We were in the company's official car, after driving 90 kilometers we stopped to rest. Until then, everything was fine, we continued our journey, and the street was empty in the early morning hours, as usual. After about ten minutes of driving from the break, a car appeared behind us and started flashing its lights. I slowed down, wanting to let it pass, but I was shocked when I looked towards the car. A masked man instantly pulled out a rifle through the window and pointed it at me“, recounts Metvali. 

The driver says that the terrorist signaled him to stop. 

“He shouted that he would kill us if I didn't stop. I braked, and four masked individuals, as if they were ready for an abduction, jumped out of the vehicle, ordered us to get out and lie down on the ground. They were not in military uniforms, but wore Bedouin clothing, robes with trousers underneath, and their faces were masked with Palestinian scarves. They tied us up and threw us into the cabin, one of them drove our car behind us“, states Metvali. 

According to him, everything happened so quickly that they didn't realize what was happening. 

“After four kilometers of driving, they stopped, took me out and threw me out, and continued their journey with a tied-up Tomislav. I ran to the police station. A search for Tomislav was immediately launched, and our car was found soon after. Then the car used for the abduction was found as well“, concluded Metvali. 

Salopek was abducted on July 23rd, appeared in an Islamic State video on August 8th, and a few days later the organization announced that they had killed him by beheading.