ISIL releases 270 of 400 civilians kidnapped in Deir Ezzor

BEIRUT // ISIL released 270 of more than 400 civilians it had abducted during its assault on the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, a monitor said.

Those released late Tuesday included women, children under 14 years old, and the elderly, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

He said they had been freed after undergoing questioning by militants to determine whether they had ties to Syria’s regime.

“They will not go back into Deir Ezzor city, but will be spread out among local tribes in the province,” Mr Abdel Rahman said.

ISIL is still holding 130 civilians, mostly teenage and adult men, for questioning.

“If ISIL sees that they have no ties to the Syrian government, they will take a religious course and will be released,” he said.

ISIL launched an assault on Deir Ezzor City on Saturday, with dozens of its fighters carrying out suicide bombings as they stormed government positions.

The group is now in control of 60 per cent of the city and has tightened its siege around it by capturing surrounding towns.

As ISIL overran Al Baghaliyeh, an agricultural area north-west of the city, it abducted another 50 people, mostly men, but it was not immediately clear whether they were civilians or pro-regime fighters.

* Agence France-Presse