Peacekeepers kidnapped - Crisis looms

The detention — or kidnapping if you prefer — yesterday of 43 UN peacekeepers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights by militants fighting the Syrian army, introduces a new layer of complexity and danger into an already dreadful situation.

Even though none of the 130 Irish soldiers trying to protect the peace in the area are among those captured the hostage-taking gives the daily savagery unfolding in the region a new sharpness.

Unease around the event cannot but be exacerbated by reports that Islamic State terrorists executed dozens of Syrian army soldiers after capturing Tabqa air base in the northeast of the country on Sunday.