PM Milanovic fears worst for Salopek, but can't confirm his killing

Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told an extraordinary press conference on Wednesday that he could not confirm with one hundred percent certainty that Tomislav Salopek, a Croatian hostage held by jihadists in Egypt, had been killed, however that the situation did not look promising.

"We cannot confirm with 100% certainty that it is true (that the killing has been perpetrated) and I do not know if we will be able to confirm it in the coming days either, however what we have seen does not look promising. It looks horrible," Milanovic said at the impromptu news conference he convened after a photo purporting to show Salopek's body was posted on Twitter by a user associated with the jihadist group Sinai Province.

The premier said that the Croatian government would offer every aid to the family of Tomislav Salopek, who live in the eastern Croatian town of Vrpolje.

Milanovic went on to say that his cabinet and other agencies and services "will not cease trying, digging as long as a glimpse of hope remains."

"However, we fear that unfortunately, what happens to other countries' citizens has befallen this Croatian citizen."

The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group claims to have executed Salopek, kidnapped three weeks ago outside Cairo, according to Agence France Presse (AFP), while the Croatian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it had no confirmation of his killing. IS has uploaded a photo on its Twitter account claiming that it shows Salopek's beheaded body. Answering a query from Hina, the Foreign Ministry has said that it has no confirmation that Salopek has been killed. AFP has said that the authenticity of the photo has not been verified yet. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the photo either, which it said included a caption that said "killing of the Croatian hostage, due to his country's participation in the war against Islamic State, after the deadline expired... ".

(Text and foto: HINA)

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