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.
Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf requested the special court that is trying him for high treason Thursday to order the government to provide him with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) report.
Following complaints from the defence ministry and ISI, Pakistan's media regulator has slapped Geo News with a notice asking why its operations should not be shut down.
A Sikh American is being prevented from doing jury duty in Sutter County in Northern California because of his kirpan, the ceremonial dagger worn by Sikhs as part of their religion.
US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan James Dobbins has opened talks with Pakistani leaders on bilateral and regional issues, focusing on the situation in Afghanistan, officials here said Thursday.
With Indians and other Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders growing in number at a fast pace, people of colour will be in the majority in the US by mid-century, according to a new report.
South Carolina's Indian American Governor Nikki Haley faces a new challenge in her re-election bid with a former judge named Tom Ervin joining the race as an independent.
