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.
BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has termed the comments on Kashmir by the Pakistani Army chief as "highly provocative" and wished the outgoing UPA government took a "stronger stand on this uninvited interference".
What attracts us to mythology? Is it the human fascination for tales, particularly those personifying natural phenomenon, or explaining the creation of the world and humankind in a way that is easily understood and without going into the big bang theory and evolution?
A Sikh taxi driver in New York has been found guilty of kidnapping and raping a 29-year-old female passenger three years ago and faces 25 years in prison when he is sentenced May 12.
Up to 255 bodies were recovered and identified following Friday's massive landslide in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan, sources said Saturday as India offered assistance in relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Saying that even today South Asian Americans are targets of suspicion and violence, President Barack Obama is pushing for "commonsense immigration reform" to bring the "American dream" within their reach.
In a last minute decision, India cancelled the visit of a group of 500 Pakistani pilgrims to the Ajmer shrine for Urs, citing the ongoing general elections.
