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ISIL demands $22mn ransom to free Assyrian hostages

This file photo shows Assyrian Christians in Syria’s northeastern city of Hasakah.

The ISIL Takfiri group has demanded USD 22 million dollars in ransom to release 212 Assyrian Christians the terrorist group kidnapped in February.

The ISIL Takfiri group is “demanding $22 million ransom for the release of 212 Assyrians who were abducted last February in Hasaka Province northeastern Syria,” the Assyrian Network for Human Rights said on Tuesday.

As many as 84 of the hostages are women, 39 are children and the rest of them are elderly people, the network added.

The Assyrian network further said that negotiations between the human rights body and the terrorist group has been cut because of the large amount of the ransom, the London-based al-Quds al-Arabia newspaper reported.

The rights network has expressed grave concern over the fate of the Assyrian hostages, saying their families cannot afford the ransom money.

The terrorists in February attacked a number of Assyrian villages along the Khabur River in Hasakah Province, including Tel Nasri. They also kidnapped hundreds of Assyrian Christians.

The hostages were taken to Abd al-Aziz mount southwest of Tel Tamer, a town located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the northwest of Hasakah.

According to the Assyrian rights body, the Takfiri group has released 23 of the captives.

The ISIL terrorists, with members from several Western countries, control parts of Syria and Iraq, and have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all ethnic and religious communities.

IA/NN


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