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Photo provided by the Syrian Syrian agency on September 5, 2018 of Syrian artillery firing at positions of the Islamic State group in the province of Soueida / SANA / AFP / Archives
The Islamic State (IS) group has released six of the 27 hostages held in the province of Soueida since July 25, in exchange for ISIS prisoners held by the Syrian regime and ransom, the Syrian Observatory said Saturday. of Human Rights (OSDH).
"Two women and four children from the province of Soueida were released last night," OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "This is the first wave" of an agreement sealed with the Syrian regime, "under the direct supervision of Russia", to "release all hostages" against "60 detainees of the IS with the regime and a ransom of $ 27 million, "he added.
"The remaining 21 hostages should be released in the next few hours or days," Abdel Rahman said.
At the end of July, IS had conducted coordinated badaults and suicide bombings in several localities in the southern province of Soueida, killing more than 250 people, one of the heaviest reports since the start of the war in Syria in 2011.
About 30 people, including women and their children, had been kidnapped by the jihadist group after these attacks on the Druze community, the majority in the province.
Since then, two hostages have been executed: a 25-year-old woman and a 19-year-old student. A 65-year-old woman also died in custody.
Photo provided by the Syrian agency Sana on July 25, 2018 of a suicide attack by the group Islamist State in the province of Soueida / SANA / AFP / Archives
The attempts to mediate the kidnappers by Russia and the Syrian regime, with the involvement of family representatives or high Druze dignitaries, had all failed at first.
The last round of talks, however, paid off: the deal is for a ransom of one million dollars for each of the 27 hostages still alive, stopping a regime offensive against IS in a desert area of the province of Soueida, and the release of dozens of wives of jihadists, according to the OSDH.
As part of the agreement, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of Kurdish and Arab fighters, and backed by an international anti-jihadist coalition led by Washington, "should also release IS detainees" as part of the deal. of this agreement, according to Mr. Abdel Rahman, who did not specify their number.
After controlling vast territories in Iraq and Syria from 2014, IS is now cornered in ultimate desert recessions.
The war in Syria has claimed more than 360,000 lives since its outbreak in 2011.
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