Two young female Italian captives appear in a video wearing an Islamic garb, with only their faces showing. They are seated against what appears to be a wall; one of the captives reads a short statement in English, which includes. "We are in danger and we could be killed."
The two Italians as seen in the video.
The statement read by one of the captives identifies the two Italians as Greta Ramelli and Vanessa Marzullo. Two young Italians by those names went missing as they travelled to Syria in late July they are believed to have been kidnapped.
Vanessa's father, Salvatore Marzullo said "I have no doubt that it's them." to CNN of the video posted online on Thursday.
Some believe it is the work of al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.
One of the young girls holds up a piece of paper suggesting that the video was shot on the 17th December. The paper reads "17-12-14 WEDNESDAY."
The other girl reads this as part of the statement. "We supplicate our government and its mediators to bring us back home before Christmas. We are in big danger and we could be killed. The government and its mediators are responsible of our lives,"
Italian intelligence sources consider the video to be authentic according to the state run ANSA News Agency.
Laura Boldrini, speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies said that "These women are shouting for help, they are sending out an SOS." She added, "We do not know how reliable this video is, but the situation of these two women is distressing.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the video.
But an Italian intelligence source told ANSA that authorities are in a "very delicate moment that requires maximum discretion."
The two Italian women were working for Italian aid group, Horryaty.
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