- Two young women went missing after traveling to Syria in late July
- Some online postings say the video is from al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra
- "I have no doubt that it's them," the father of one of the captives tells CNN
(CNN) -- The two young women are seen in Islamic garb with only their faces showing. They appear to be seated against a wall. One reads a brief statement in English, which includes: "We are in big danger and we could be killed."
The statement identifies them as Greta Ramelli and Vanessa Marzullo. Two young Italian women by those names -- ages 20 and 21 -- went missing and were believed kidnapped after they traveled to Syria in late July.
"I have no doubt that it's them," Vanessa's father Salvatore Marzullo told CNN of the video posted online Thursday. Some postings say the video is from al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.
One of the young women holds a paper suggesting that the video was shot December 17.
"We supplicate our government and its mediators to bring us back home before Christmas. We are in big danger and we could be killed. The government and its mediators are responsible of our lives," the other says, reading the statement.
Italian intelligence sources consider the video to be authentic, according to the state-run ANSA news agency.
"These women are shouting for help, they are sending out an SOS," said Laura Boldrini, speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. She added, "We do not know how reliable this video is, but the situation of these two women is distressing."
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the video.
An Italian intelligence source told ANSA news agency that authorities are in a "very delicate moment that requires maximum discretion."
The Goddess of Democracy (left image), erected by student protesters in 1989 in Tiananmen Square. The photo on the right shows a wooden statue of an umbrella man, created by an art graduate student who calls himself Milk. He told CNN he did not intend to link the piece with the Tiananmen symbol. 
Since the umbrella was used to shield protesters from the tear gas and pepper spray deployed by police, it has become a ubiquitous sight in the protests, and given the movement its symbol. Here, the fabric of dozens of broken umbrellas have been stitched together to form a canopy. 
Long an emblem of suffrage movements internationally, the yellow ribbons have been adopted by Hong Kong's protesters as a symbol of democratic aspiration. There are thousands tied on fences throughout Hong Kong. 
An image of an umbrella made up of yellow ribbons is laid out on the ground near the central government offices. The sign reads: "We can't live without civic nominations." 
The barrier separating the main road is lined with bright umbrellas. 
A student protester speaks into a microphone in front of a "democracy wall" filled with notes supporting the pro-democracy protest. The notes are protected from the rain with plastic wrap. 
Post-it messages filled with sketches and messages cover a wall next to a stairway in the Admiralty district in Hong Kong. Some of them are words of hope, and others denounce the Hong Kong's top official, the chief executive. 
A couple walk past a banner of a man carrying a yellow umbrella, which has come to symbolize the protest. 
South Korean soldiers stand guard as Christians stage a lighting ceremony in front of a Christmas tree atop a military-controlled hill near the tense land border in Gimpo, west of Seoul, on December 21, 2010. North Korea has objected to Christmas trees at the border since the 1960s. 
Cubans watch a South Korean soap opera DVD in Havana, on December 5, 2013. South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in October that officials from the North's ruling party had been executed by firing squad for viewing a South Korean soap opera. 
South Korean pop group Four Minute perform on stage during the 20th Dream Concert on June 7, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea. An anti-North Korea radio show by the South had opened with a pop song from the quartet. 
A picture taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency shows the statues of late leaders Kim Il Sung (third left) and Kim Jong Il (third right) at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang on February 16, 2013. Photographers who have spent time in the country say that particular care must be taken when snapping pictures of statues of North Korean leaders. 
South Korean activists release balloons carrying anti-North Korea leaflets at a park near the border in Paju, north of Seoul, on October 10, 2014. The balloons anger the regime in Pyongyang, drawing regular threats of violent reprisals. 
A Catholic worshiper reads from a Bible at the Myeong-dong Cathedral in Seoul on August 6, 2014. Although North Korea has some state-controlled churches, the regime forbids independent religious activities. 
