Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group who was allegedly responsible for holding the two Canadians, is an affiliate of al-Qaeda and one of many armed groups operating in Syria (Canadian Press)
Two Canadians who were held hostage by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria have been freed.According to the BBC, Sean Moore and Jolly Bimbachi of Chatham, Ontario were released this week by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a rebranded version of al-Qaeda in Syria with some 31,000 fighters.Details about how the pair ended up in Syria remain unclear.A Global Affairs Canada spokesperson told VICE News in an email on Monday morning that two Canadians have “safely left Syria,” but would not confirm any details of the situation or their identities citing privacy concerns.
Advertisement
“The Government of Canada provided assistance to the Canadians while they were in Syria and will continue to do so,” the spokesperson said.
It was not immediately clear how Ontario resident Jolly Bimbachi was removed from Syria (Credit: Facebook Jolly Bimbachi)
Bimbachi travelled to Lebanon last November to reunite with her two young sons after her ex-husband did not bring the children back home after taking them abroad for a visit in 2015. Bimbachi had been working with Global Affairs Canada for years to try to bring her children home.“We played and hugged for hours,” Bimbachi told CBC News in November after she was reunited with her children in Lebanon.It’s unclear what happened to her after that or how she ended up in Syria with HTS.CBC News also reported that Sean Moore, also of Chatham, had travelled with Bimbachi to help her retrieve her children. Details of his captivity also remain unclear.According to the Chatham Daily News, Moore has travelled to Iraq on several occasions for charity work. He said he was drawn to helping those affected by the violence carried out by Islamic State militants.
“They really believe they have been forgotten, these people,” he said in 2015 before embarking on another mission trip.Last October, Canadian couple Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman, and their three children, returned home to Canada after being held hostage for five years in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.Boyle is now facing a series of assault and other criminal charges that allegedly occurred after he returned to Ottawa.
Get the latest from VICE News in your inbox. Sign up right here.
By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.
“They really believe they have been forgotten, these people,” he said in 2015 before embarking on another mission trip.Last October, Canadian couple Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman, and their three children, returned home to Canada after being held hostage for five years in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.Boyle is now facing a series of assault and other criminal charges that allegedly occurred after he returned to Ottawa.