Syrians arrest son of Fathi Shqaqi

The son of Islamic Jihad founder Fathi Shaqaqi was arrested by security forces in Syria, an Egyptian newspaper reported Saturday.

Fathi Shaqaqi, the father, was assassinated in Malta in 1995 by Mossad hitmen outside the Diplomat Hotel, in Sliema.

According to the report, the 20-year-old Ibrahim Fathi Shaqaqi was taken into custody from his home in the Al-Yarmouk refugee camp. A relative told the newspaper that the security forces detained the youth without allowing the family to see him or giving them any information of his whereabouts. Senior Islamic Jihad officials were prohibited from visiting him as well.

The relative said that Ibrahim is not the only Islamic Jihad operative to be imprisoned in Syria. Despite the close ties between the Damascus and the militant group, the Syrian authorities refused the Jihad's request to release its militants when the uprising against President Bashar Assad began.

Ibrahim's family claimed that Assad's regime forces are intentionally refusing to reveal the location where he and the other operatives are held.