ISLAMIC STATE
Activists say Islamic State releases 19 Syrian Christians
BEIRUT (AP) β An activist group and a local leader say the Islamic State group has released 19 Christians who were among the more than 220 people the militants took captive in northeastern Syria last week.
The Christian Assyrian community has been devastated by the abductions, which saw Islamic State fighters haul off entire families from a string of villages.
Bashir Saedi, a senior official in the Assyrian Democratic Organization, says the 16 men and three women arrived safely Sunday and were taken to a church.
Saedi said all those released were around 50 years of age or older, which suggests age might have been a factor. The Assyrian Human Rights Network, meanwhile, said the captives had released after paying an Islamic tax imposed on non-Muslims.
Relatives of the other 200-plus Christian captives fear their loved ones may be enslaved or killed.
Sound:
164-v-32-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–An activist group and a local leader say the Islamic State group has released 19 Christians who were among more than 220 people the militants took captive in northeastern Syria last week. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (1 Mar 2015)
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