The Custody of the Holy Land announced the clergyman's release. The friar is now in the convent of Knayeh, the village where he was kidnapped by al Nusra militants.

Damascus (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Custody of the Holy Land announced that Fr Hanna Jallouf was released this morning. The Franciscan clergyman was abducted overnight on Sunday.

The friar was released this morning and is now under "house arrest" in Knayeh convent, according to the Custody's website. However, there is no news about the fate of the other 20 Christians who were taken with him.

Fr Hanna and his followers were taken by al Nusra Jihadist fighters from the village of Knayeh, on the border with Turkey.

Since the start of the Syrian conflict, Jihadi militias abducted several prominent Christian clerics, most notably two bishops, Metropolitan Boulos Yazigi (Orthodox Church of Antioch) and Metropolitan Mar Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim (Syrian Orthodox Church) in April 2013.

An Italian-born Jesuit priest, Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, was also kidnapped in Syria 29 July 2013.

• syria
• civil
• war
• abductions
• release
• hannah
• jallouf