Syrians urge ISIS to release American captive

A group of Syrians are urging the Islamic State group to release a 26-year-old American aid worker who has been detained for more than a year.

Peter Kassig, an Indianapolis native who was captured by jihadists while helping Syrians during the country’s brutal civil war, has since converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

“We are demanding the Islamic State to release him, if they know Islam. He is a Muslim and has not participated in what his country is doing,” Amjad al-Moghrabi, a friend of Kassig’s, told reporters during a news conference in Tripoli.

Dr. Ahmad Obeid, another friend of Kassig’s, called for mercy for the former Army Ranger.

“We are calling for his freedom because he supported our cause and we cannot leave him and let them hurt him,” Obeid said.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released a video last month threatening to behead Kassig.