The three Christians who were martyred in Turkey last week were horribly tortured for three hours prior to being killed, Christian Today has learned, as details continue to emerge.

|PIC1|According to the Washington-DC based human rights group International Christian Concern, the three were put through a horrific ordeal which included multiple stabbings before finally being killed.

An ICC statement tells: "As difficult and sorrowful as it is to learn more, we believe that we must expose the truly hellish nature of this attack for what it is."

On Easter Sunday, five of the killers had been to a service that one of the victims, Pastor Necati, had arranged in the city of Malatya. The men were known to the believers as "seekers".

These young men, one of whom is the son of a mayor in the Province of Malatya, are part of a tarikat, or a group of "faithful believers" in Islam, ICC has learned.

"Tarikat membership is highly respected; it's like a fraternity membership," ICC has stated. "In fact, it is said that no one can get into public office without membership in a tarikat."

On the day of the killing, the young Muslim men had arranged to meet the Christians at 10 am to learn more about the Bible.

"They had gathered guns, breadknives, ropes and towels - they knew there would be a lot of blood - ready for their act," ICC said.

ICC described the horrific ordeal in excruciating detail, which will only moderately be described in this report.

"They arrived, and reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began. The young men tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman's hands and feet to chairs as they videoed their work on their cellphones. What followed in the next three hours is beyond belief," an ICC release has said.

ICC then continued to describe the nature of the torture, which included disembowelment, emasculation, and the slicing open of various orifices.

"Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur's stabs were too numerous to count. Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, heads practically decapitated," ICC reports.

The ICC description goes on: "Meanwhile, another believer arrived at the office around 12.30pm. The door was locked from the inside, and his key would not work. He phoned and though it had connection on his end he did not hear the phone ringing inside.

"He called cell phones of his brothers and finally Ugur answered his phone. 'We are not at the office. Go to the hotel meeting. We are there. We will come there,' he said cryptically. As Ugur spoke he heard in the telephone's background weeping and a strange snarling sound.

"He phoned the police, and the nearest officer arrived in about five minutes. He pounded on the door, 'Police, open up!' Initially the officer thought it was a domestic disturbance. At that point they heard another snarl and a gurgling moan."

ICC continued: "The police understood that sound as human suffering, prepared the clip in his gun and tried over and over again to burst through the door. One of the frightened assailants unlocked the door for the policeman, who entered to find a grisly scene."

The throats of Tilman, Necati and Ugur had been slit and although Ugur was still alive, he died soon after from his horrific injuries.

After Tillman's wife learned of the brutal death of her husband she publicly forgave the killers repeating the words of Jesus Christ, "They know not what they do."

Jeff King, ICC President, stated, "The contrast between the acts of the killers and the forgiveness of Tillman's wife is glaring and in the end seems to be at the centre of this story for us."