By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 22 September 2017:
The Derna Mujahideen Shoura Council has said that five bodies it found in June 2015 after it managed to expel forces of the Islamic State (IS) were those of Austrian oil services company VAOS employee who were among nine staff kidnapped at the Ghani oilfield by IS in March 2015.
The nine were Ghani camp manager Dalibor Savicic from Serbia but with Austrian nationality, four Filipinos, two Bangladeshis, a Czech and a Ghanaian. The two Bangladeshis were subsequently released by IS and then rescued by Misrata’s 16 Battalion along with the Ghanaian.
According to the mujahideen, the five bodies found in the west of the town were subsequently identified as members of the abducted group following the discovery of a laptop computer belonging to the Czech catering manager Pavel Hruza. It apparently contained images of the four Filipinos being executed.
The mujahideen say that the bodies were handed to the Red Crescent, but it is not known where they are now or if they have been identified. Nor is there any news of the whereabouts of the sixth missing man.
It is also not clear why it has taken so long for the news about the five to surface.
The Austrian government said two days ago that it that it was trying to verify the mujahideen report, but has also said it “fears the worst”. Austrian officials, however, have since refused to make any comment about the story.
It has been reported that the bodies were found in marked graves, and that attempts are being made to return them to their families.
At the time it was reported that IS had demanded a ransom of half a million dollars for Savicic. According to the mujahideen a ransom was also demanded for Hruza, but that the Czech authorities refused to negotiate.
During the attack, 11 Libyan guards were also killed.
