Helal Uddin, who was taken hostage by Islamic militant group Islamic State in Libya, has finally contacted his family in Jamalpur.
Helal made the unexpected phone call to his family members for the first time since he was abducted by the IS militants, around 10:30am yesterday.
Quoting her husband, Helal’s wife Aleya Begum told the Dhaka Tribune the IS militants had assured him that they would release their Bangladeshi hostages in a few days. “The militants let him and the others hostages speak with their families on phone, and they may set the Bangladeshi hostages free within a day or two.”
Helal was taken hostage along with eight other foreign nationals during an attack on a central oil field by militants from Libya’s Islamic State affiliate on March 6.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed his abduction through a press release on March 9. According to Helal, the IS militants have two other Bangladeshi workers as their hostages beside him. One of them is Anwar Hossain, but Helal did not give the name of the other hostage.