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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Kurds, ISIS swap prisoners |
| 2016-09-25 |
| HASAKAH – Syrian Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) reached a prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group on Saturday. ISIS has released seven Kurdish civilians and two YPG fighters in exchange for a number of its jihadis who had been captured by the Kurdish units a few months ago. “The exchange took place in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah Governorate, under the supervision of mediators from local Arab tribes,” a source close to the YPG told ARA News on Saturday. The released Kurdish prisoners were originally from Kobane City. “There are still hundreds of Kurds held by ISIS in Syria,” Kurdish journalist Mustafa Abde told ARA News. According to local sources, more than 500 Kurdish civilians have been captured by the group in Kobane alone. Dozens of others have been taken hostage by ISIS from Aleppo and Hasakah. “Some of the Kurdish prisoners have been held by ISIS since nearly three years,” Abde said. “We hope that the YPG would put more pressure on ISIS to reveal the destiny of hundreds of other prisoners.” Video report at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |