Croatian FM goes to Cairo for hostage crisis

Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic flew to Cairo on Thursday afternoon to resolve a hostage crisis involving a Croatian citizen.

Pusic went to Cairo with the family members of Tomislav Salopek, the 31-year-old kidnapped Croatian citizen, including his wife and sister, according to local media.

Salopek was kidnapped in Cairo on July 22 on his way to work by armed men who are believed from the Egyptian affiliate of the IS group.

In a video posted online by the kidnappers, Salopek said he will be killed unless the Egyptian government releases Muslim women held in prisons within 48 hours.

Salopek, a father of two kids, was working as a topographer for French oil company Compagnie Generale de Geophysique (CGG) which confirmed his identity on Wednesday evening.

It was the first kidnapping of a Croatian national abroad, according to the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry. Endit