Fate of abducted Croat unknown, Apache helicopters join hunt for terrorists

The fate of 31-year-old Croatian citizen Tomislav Salopek, abducted in Cairo, whose execution extremists of the Islamic State threaten the Egyptian government with, remains unknown, despite intensive efforts by the governments in Zagreb and Cairo to resolve this difficult situation, reports the Patria News Agency.

Egyptian authorities have intensified the search for Salopek, engaging Apache helicopters in the hunt for the terrorist group, and security forces have searched several terrorist strongholds.

A source close to the Egyptian Ministry of Interior states that security forces have searched a number of terrorist hideouts in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid, Rafah, and El Arish, in an attempt to discover where the terrorists are holding Salopek.

The police, according to the source, have set up checkpoints on several roads in these cities to tighten the net around the abductors. The Ministry's Information Sector is conducting extensive searches for possible clues that would lead to the location where ISIL members are holding Salopek, as well as to new details of the abduction.

The Croatian government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continue to work on resolving the case of the abducted Croatian citizen. The head of Croatian diplomacy, Vesna Pusić, returned to Croatia from Egypt after a series of conversations, including with the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

While the agony continues, numerous countries are offering assistance to Croatia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dačić, also offered assistance to Vesna Pusić in her efforts to free Salopek from the Islamists in Egypt.

Croatian media unofficially learned that some other foreign countries have also offered assistance, but the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not wish to disclose which countries they are, as it is a sensitive situation.

The Ambassador of France to Croatia, Michel Bokoz, stated last night that there has been significant progress in negotiations with ISIL extremists regarding the release of the abducted Tomislav Salopek in the last few hours.

“The French government is in contact with its Egyptian counterparts, and we can say that the Egyptian authorities are currently the key factor. They are working very actively on the case and, as far as we know, they have made considerable progress in the last few hours, so we are confident that they will do everything they can to release Mr. Salopek,” said Bočoz.

Salopek, who was abducted on the morning of July 22 in the Cairo area while traveling to work in a company car, worked for a French company, Jutarnji.hr writes.