The Islamic State (IS) militants on Sunday released 19 Christian Assyrians they had kidnapped last month, a monitoring group reported.
The 19 people are the first batch of 29 Assyrians the sharia court of the IS exonerated on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, Xinhua reported.
On February 23, the IS abducted 220 Christian Assyrians during an assault it had waged on predominantly Assyrian areas, mainly in the area of Tal Tamr and its countryside in Syria's northeastern province of al-Hasakah.
The fate of the other abductees is still unknown amid reports that the rest of the Assyrians are awaiting trials in the IS courts.
There is no clear reason why would the IS even put the Assyrians on trial.
Also on Sunday, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said the Syrian troops captured as many as 33 towns in the eastern countryside of Hasaka after clashes with the IS.
Russia Thursday said that it has pulled back all its troops from near the Ukraine border even as Ukraine affirmed that it will continue its operation against anti-Kiev activists in the country's eastern region
Ukrainian acting President Alexandr Turchynov held talks here Wednesday with Jeffrey Feltman, the UN under secretary-general for political affairs, centering on political issues and the security situation in Ukraine.
Nigeria's government Wednesday announced a 50 million-naira ($300,000) reward to anyone who can give credible information leading to the rescue of over 230 schoolgirls abducted by Islamist rebels.
Following the initiative of United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2,000 captive-bred Asian Houbara, an endangered bustard, have been released in Kazakhstan.
British Prime Minister David Cameron Wednesday said that he is "looking forward" to discussing the recent European Union (EU) ban on Indian mango imports with the country's new prime minister, a media report said.
