DAMASCUS: Since jihadists from the Islamic State group seized control of two northeastern Syrian provinces, Jad has lost all contact with friends there from the country's tight-knit gay community.

The 32-year-old gay man, part of a community that has long suffered from persecution in socially conservative Syria, fears the worst.

“I don't have any news from them, their Facebook pages have been closed down,” Jad said, sharing drinks with friends at a traditional cafe in an old neighbourhood of Damascus.

“Are they still alive? Have they managed to flee?” he wondered. “I don't know, and that's frightening.”