By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST and the ASSIST News Service
HASAKA, SYRIA (ANS – March 6, 2015) -- Sources in Hasaka are reporting that Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has released all the Assyrians it had captured when it attacked Assyrian villages on the Khabur River on February 23.
But a spokesperson for the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), said that they could not verify these reports.“If the hostages have been released, they are still in Islamic State held territory and have not yet reached Hasaka, the most likely destination,” he said.
The terror group captured between 262 and 373 Assyrians in its initial attacks on some 35 Assyrian villages in Syria.
Islamic State released 19 of the 21 Assyrians captured from the village of Tel Goran on March 1, and the remaining two on March 3.
In an interview with AINA (www.aina.org), one of the Assyrians released by Islamic State said they were told they could not return to their villages, and if they did, they would be killed.
On February 23, Islamic State attacked the Assyrian villages of Tel Goran, Tel Hurmiz, Tel Tamar, Tel Baloaa Tel Shamiran, Tel Riman, Tel Nasra, Tel Khareta, Tel Jazira, Tel Fweidat, Qaber Shamiyeh and Abu Tena.
Nine Assyrian fighters died defending their villages in the initial attacks and there are reports that Islamic State has executed at least 12 Assyrian fighters who were captured, two of them women.
The majority of the Assyrians were captured from Tel Shamiran, Tel Hurmiz, Tel Goran and Tel Jazira.
Photo caption: Joseph and Sargon Sarkis -- two of the Assyrians captured by Islamic State.
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